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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



OF 



NEW YORK 

A Life Record of Men and Women of the Past 

Whose Sterling Character and Energy and Industry Have Made 
Them Preeminent in Their Own and Many Other States 



BY 



CHARLES ELLIOTT FITCH, L. H. D. 

Lawyer, Journalist, Educator ; Editor and Contributor to Many Newspapers 

and Magazines; ex-Regent New York University; Supervisor 

Federal Census (N. Y.) 1880; Secretary New 

York Constitutional Convention, 1894 



ILLUSTRATED 



THE AMERICAN HISTORICAL SOCIETY 

INCORPORATED 

BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO 

I 9 I 6 






Both justice and decency require that we should bestow on our forefathers 
an honorable remembrance — Thucydidcs 



o 



y. 



FOREWORD 




'EW YORK, the twenty-sixth in area, the foremost State in 
the Union since the year 1820, foremost in population and 
political significance, in wealth, letters, and the arts, is dis- 
tinctively known as "The Empire State," and her motto, 
"Excelsior," is written broad upon her shield, to higher 
achievement. 

The present work, "Encyclopedia of Biography of New 
York," presents in the aggregate an amount and variety of information 
relating to representative citizens of the State, past and present, — men of 
character and standing, in their various spheres; men who have made and 
moulded the State — unequalled by any kindred publication. 

There have been published State and local histories which relate prin- 
cipally to the people in the aggregate, that is, as a body politic. The ampli- 
fication necessary to complete the picture is what has been undertaken in 
the present work. Its province is to be a chronicle of the factors in the active 
life of the community, who have a personal character and individuality. It 
therefore constitutes one of the most original and permanently valuable 
contributions ever made to the political, social and economic history of an 
American community. It presents in a lucid and dignified manner the 
important facts concerning those who hold or have held useful position in 
the lettered, professional and business life of the State. It has not been based 
upon, nor does it minister to, class preferences and assumptions. Its funda- 
mental ideas are thoroughly American. It everywhere conveys the lesson 
that distinction has been gained by honorable public service, or by marked 
usefulness in private station; and that the development and prosperity of 
the Commonwealth have been dependent upon the character of its citizens, 
and in the stimulus which they have given to industry, to commerce, to the 
arts and sciences, to education and religion — to all that is comprised in the 
highest civilization of the present day — through a continual progressive 
development. On these accounts these volumes will prove a useful contribu- 
tion to literature, and a valuable legacy to future generations. 

A work of such magnitude must needs be the work of several different 
hands; but the inspiring spirit has been always the scholarly chief editor, 



Charles Elliott Fitch, L. H. D., widely known throughout the land as jour- 
nalist and historian. His admirable character studies in these volumes will 
be readily recognizable. Aside from these, the work is in principal part that 
of our staff writers. 

Aside from the valuable aid rendered by Dr. Fitch, the publishers would 
express their obligations to the following named gentlemen who have ren- 
dered assistance with their pens or in an advisory way: Andrew W. White, 
LL. D., of Ithaca; Charles Andrews, LL. D., of Syracuse; Edwin A. Merritt, 
of New York City; Sherman Williams, Ph. D., of New York City; Charles 
S. Symonds, of Ithaca; A. Judd Northrup, LL. D., of Syracuse; Hon. Wil- 
liam E. Werner, of Rochester; De Alva S. Alexander, LL. D., of Bufifalo; 
Henry W. Hill, LL. D., of Buffalo; William J. Wallace, LL. D., of Albany; 
J. Sloat Fassett, LL. D., of Elmira; Ellis H. Roberts, LL. D., of Utica; Wil- 
liam H. Samson, of Rochester; James A. Holden, B. A., of Glen Falls; Wil- 
liam H. Mace, Ph. D., of Syracuse; Charles R. Skinner, LL. D., of Water- 
town; James A. Ellis, of New York City; David Jayne Hill, LL. D., of 
Rochester; William S. Pelletreau, A. M., of New York City; John Reynolds 
Totten, of New York City. 

FENWICK Y. HEDLEY, 

Managing Editor. 




BIOGRAPHICAL 



'\y 





ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



SCHUYLER. PhUip, 

Soldier, I<egisIator, Statesman. 

When Philip Schuyler was born in Al- 
bany, November ii, 1733, five great fami- 
lies — the Van Rensselaers, Van Cortlandts. 
Philipses, Livingstons and Schuylers — 
with their ancestral acres, intermarriages 
and aptitude for public affairs, dominated 
the Hudson river region, politically and 
socially. They gave to the province its 
landlords, magistrates and warriors. They 
were nearly all of pure Dutch descent. 
If they clung tenaciously to their own 
vested prerogatives, they also shielded 
the chartered rights of the people against 
the assaults of English ministers and 
governors ; and they drew their swords 
for independence. The Schuylers came 
into the group somewhat later than the 
others, with their manorial grants, acquir- 
ing title mainly from the Van Rensse- 
laers and the aborigines; but the New 
York "Civil List" records the names of 
twelve Schuylers as filling civil offices 
prior to Philip's birth. 

Philip Pieterse, the progenitor of the 
family in America, the son of a wealthy 
merchant of Amsterdam, came to Rens- 
selaerwyck, in 1650, married a daughter 
of Van Schlechtenhorst, factor of the 
Patroon, established friendly relations 
with the Iroquois, acquired a fortune in 
the fur trade and made extensive invest- 
ments in real estate, the "Flatts" (now 
Watervliet) and the homestead in Albany 
being among them. He died in 1684, ten 
children surviving him. Peter, his eldest 
son, relinquishing his primogenial pre- 
scription, divided the estate among the 
heirs. He became prominent in north- 



ern New York ; was the first mayor of 
Albany, in 1686; a member of the Coun- 
cil of the Colony ; a Commissioner of In- 
dian affairs ; and acting governor, at var- 
ious short periods. He was colonel of 
militia, in command at Fort Orange, 
marshalling provincials and Mohawks to 
meet French forays and especially dis- 
tinguished himself by his daring and 
dash at La Prairie. Johannes, a younger 
brother, who married Elizabeth Staats, 
and was the grandfather of Philip, was 
also a plucky soldier, adept in border war- 
fare. He too was mayor, Indian Com- 
missioner and member of the Colonial 
.A.ssembly, and, as a captain, rivalled 
Peter's exploit at the same Canadian out- 
post. John, the son of Johannes, who 
married Cornelia Van Cortlandt, and died 
in 1741, when his son, Philip, was but 
eight years old, was another Albany 
mayor and Indian Commissioner but, 
otherwise, led the quiet life of a gentle- 
man and the proprietor of a goodly es- 
tate. 

Philip's younger years were passed in 
Albany under the observant eyes of his 
mother, tender in her ministries, yet a 
strict disciplinarian, impressing upon her 
children habits of obedience, order and 
truthfulness. There were frequent so- 
journs under Colonel Peter's roof at the 
"Flatts," noted for the careful regimen 
and plenteous hospitality of "Aunt Schuy- 
ler." Philip's education was liberal, for 
its day, equalling, if not excelling, that 
which Harvard or Yale afiforded. King's 
College was not opened until 1754. His 
elementary studies were directed by his 
mother ; his secondary, by a Huguenot 
tutor. At the age of fifteen, he was sent 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



to New Rochelle, the Huguenot refugee 
settlement, to be instructed in higher 
branches by the Rev. Stouppe, the pastor 
of the Protestant church, a man of sound 
learning and gifted in imparting it. He 
abode with his reverend teacher, some 
three years, diligent in the classics, 
quickly acquiring fluency in French — ■ 
very serviceable to him in after days — 
but especially interested in mathematics, 
that inclined him to precise processes of 
inquiry and reason and scientific investi- 
gation. Returning to Albany, he assum- 
ed the management of his father's prop- 
erty, with marked success. It consisted 
largely of forest lands, waiting tenants to 
clear and cultivate them and the selection 
of mechanical sites, and laborers thereon 
— the conquest of the wilderness. The 
friendly relations with the Indians — a 
.Schuyler heritage — were also to be pre- 
served. All these schemes involved fre- 
quent tours of the wilds and minutes of 
their capabilities, as he traversed the in- 
land water ways, through the Mohawk 
and the reaches of Oneida to Ontario, or 
down the Champlain to the St. Lawrence. 
This woodland training, invigorating, if 
strenuous, and the topographical knowl- 
edge and vigor of mind and body ensuing, 
were soon to be of essential service to 
the country. 

In releases fronx business cares and 
travels, he found pleasure in the gather- 
ings and diversions of the manorial circle, 
enlarged by the admission of the Ten 
Eycks, Bleeckers, Beeckmans, Lansings 
and other members of what was even 
then known as the Dutch aristocracy of 
the burgh. More often than elsewhere, he 
was seen at the home of John Van Rens- 
selaer, whither his daughter the "sweet 
Kitty V. R." drew him as by magnet's 
spell. His visits to New "S'ork were of 
annual occurrence. He mingled in its 
literary and political, as well as social 
circles, in which he formed intimacies 



with the rising young men who were to 
be his allies or adversaries in the exciting 
issues of the coming years. Schuyler 
reached his majority in the autumn of 
1754, commemorating the event, as Peter 
had before him, by the waiver of primo- 
geniture, and the division equally of the 
estate, that he might have wholly appro- 
priated, among all the children. The for- 
tune that he possessed subsequently was 
the result of his own enterprise and 
thrift. 

This year is memorable for the meet- 
ing of the Albany conference, in which 
seven of the thirteen colonies were repre- 
sented and Franklin outlined his plan of 
their union — not adopted, but presaging 
the Confederacy — which Schuyler must 
have witnessed, impressed by its pro- 
ceedings. The year is still more memor- 
able as that in which the treaty, or rather 
truce, of Aix-la-Chapelle was annulled and 
Fngland and France were again clashing 
on two continents, in what is known by 
the one as the "Seven Years War," and 
by the other as the "French and Indian." 
Provincial troops, New York furnishing 
her due contingent, fought side by side, 
with British regulars in the conflict that 
established Anglo-Saxon supremacy on 
American soil. Early in 1755, Schuyler 
raised a company of infantry, was com- 
missioned captain by Governor De 
Lancey and joined the command of Gen- 
eral-Sir William-Johnson, in the projected 
expedition against Crown Point. With 
an intermission in 1757, he continued in 
the service throughout ; at first bravely 
in the line and next most efficiently as 
commissary-general with the rank of 
colonel. At the end, in the words of 
Tuckerman, "he had learned the methods 
of moving large bodies of men in a coun- 
try of rivers and forests, the precautions 
against ambuscade, the building and man- 
agement of boats. The collection of mili- 
tary stores had been entrusted largely to 



:i* i 







The Schuyler Mansion, 



■J-Si:'- 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



him and at the conclusion of the war 
there was no young man in the province 
who understood the duty better. His 
natural mental gifts and the constant as- 
sociation with military officers had taught 
him what a soldier's life involved ; the im- 
portance of discipline, the provision for 
the future, the necessity of meeting vary- 
ing conditions with new expedients ;" all 
of which prepared him for his high com- 
mand in the Revolution. 

Meanwhile, as recorded by himself in 
the old fam,ily Bible, "in the year 1755, 
on the 17th of September, was I, John 
Philip Schuyler, married (in the 21st 
year, 9th month and 17th day of his age) 
to Catharine Van Rensselaer, aged twen- 
ty years, nine months and twenty-seven 
days. May we live in peace and to the 
glory of God ;" — a prayer happily answer- 
ed in their long and fruitful wedded life 
of forty-eight years, of constant concern 
for each other's weal, with mutual bur- 
dens and blessings — she of graceful mien 
and winning deportment, yet firm of will 
and discreet in household administration. 
She bore him fourteen children. In 1761 
he built the mansion in lower .'Mbany, 
overlooking the Hudson, still standing, 
a handsome monument of colonial archi- 
tecture — where and, at the Saratoga 
country seat were the dwellings of polite- 
ness, plenty and piety, of seemly merry- 
makings and hospitalities, tendered alike 
to the lofty and the lowly, to friends and 
foes in war; where Indian chiefs and 
American statesmen assembled, where 
the wounded Dieskau was nursed and the 
captured Burgoyne welcomed, where La- 
fayette slept and Hamilton came a woo- 
ing. 

During the years immediately succeed- 
ing the peace of 1763. Colonel Schuyler 
attended steadily to his private affairs 
continually adding to his possessions by 
Van Cortlandt inheritances and purchases 
from manorial grantors on the Hudson 



and Indians on the Mohawk, becoming 
one of the great landed proprietors of the 
province and especially devoted to the 
development and beautifying of his Sara- 
toga demesne, where he spent the major 
portion of his time. His knowledge of 
territorial opportunities and his sound 
business judgment made him the confi- 
dant and the counselor of the community 
in all its undertakings — its Fidus Achates. 
When public service sought him, there 
could be no doubt as to which side he 
would take. As a soldier, he had fought 
for British dominion ; as a statesman and 
soldier he would contend for American 
emancipation from its tyrannies. His 
first official preferment was, however, of 
purely inter-provincial moment. In 1764, 
he was appointed one of the commission- 
ers to settle the boundary between New 
York and New England. Compromise 
was made with Massachusetts, as it had 
been with Connecticut a century before, 
by defining the line at twenty miles east 
of the Hudson, leaving in abeyance that 
between New Hampshire and New York, 
Schuyler maintaining that title to lands 
north of Massachusetts and west of the 
Connecticut river — the Hampshire grants 
(Vermont) — inhered in New York. This 
attitude affected him unpleasantly by 
stimuhiting Puritan prejudice against 
him and seriously embarrassing him when 
New England quotas were included in 
the forces under him in the northern de- 
partment. 

On October 28, 1768, Colonel Schuyler 
entered the Thirtieth Provincial Assem- 
bly which, with its controlling patriotic 
sentiment, was in frequent collision with 
the governor, affirming, in the strongest 
terms, its right of petition to the King 
and of correspondence with cognate 
bodies and, generally, its constitutional 
functions, not to be suspended, abridged, 
abrogated or annulled by any power. 
authority, or ;)rcrogati\-e whatever. Al- 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



though one of the youngest members, he 
was prominent and influential in its de- 
liberations. He was returned to the 
Thirty-first and last Assembly, decidedly 
Tory in its majority, and, therein, he was 
as prominent, if not as persuasive, as in 
the preceding one. He was diligent in 
labor and vigorous, candid and utterly 
fearless in speech. In 1775, he was 
elected to the Continental Congress and 
re-elected five times, the last in 1781. He 
was faithful to his duties, as circum- 
stances permitted, continuous attendance 
upon its sessions being precluded by his 
military service. 

On June 15, 1775, the Continental Con- 
gress voted to raise an army of 20,000 
men, appointed George Washington com- 
mander-in-chief and, upon the unanimous 
recommendation of the Provincial Con- 
gress, nam,ed Schuyler as one of the four 
major-generals and assigned him to the 
northern department. In proven equip- 
ment for his post, he was the superior of 
any New Yorker, with the possible ex- 
ception of Richard Montgomery, the bril- 
liant young Irishman, soon as a brigadier, 
to die gloriously at Quebec. Schuyler 
had ample knowledge of the geography 
and people of the region and of the quar- 
tering, transportation and provisioning of 
troops. He was a thorough disciplin- 
arian, a great organizer and a trained 
soldier, to say nothing of his wealth and 
famil)' prestige. He had won his spurs. 
The operations of Schuyler, of whom 
Fiske says, "no man in whom the inher- 
ited zeal for the public service and who 
for bravery and generosity was like the 
paladin of some mediaeval romance could 
be found in America,'' may not here be 
treated at length. They were beset by 
appalling dangers and difficulties; by 
scant supplies and munitions; by lack of 
money ; by the draining of his personal 
credit; by insufficient and often, insub- 
ordinate enrollments ; by New England 



cavil of him as "a Dutchman," hostile 
to her inhabitants and interests ; by silly 
criticism of his bearing, his stately car- 
riage being misinterpreted as haughti- 
ness ; by mean and malignant intrigues 
and much of the time, by torturing phys- 
ical pain that visited him at intervals 
through his life. 

The Canadian invasion, ordered by 
Congress, for which he was in no wise 
responsible, initiated by the fiery advance 
of Montgomery at Montreal and termi- 
nating in the doleful retreat of Sulilvan 
upon Crown Point, was impossible of 
success against the overwhelming forces 
of Sir Guy Carleton and the collapse of 
the anticipated French insurrection. 
General Schuyler guarded the forts of 
Lake Champlain resolutely, until the in- 
vasion of Burgoyne induced the Fabian 
policy of retirement before him and the 
corrosion of his columns, including the 
evacuations at Ticonderoga and Fort Ed- 
ward — and as an incident the burning of 
Schuyler's princely country house. Forest 
impediment were placed against and sub- 
sistence closed before him, while the re- 
cruiting and massing of the American 
army proceeded, the environment was 
completed, the onslaughts of Arnold and 
Morgan made and British surrender com- 
pelled. "Independence, saved at Trenton, 
was established at Saratoga," (Henry 
Cabot Lodge). But at the moment when 
victory was assured by Schuyler's tactics, 
his undoing was ordained. Congress, 
yielding to the importunity of the Gates 
cabal, removed Schuyler from command 
and relegated it to an incompetent and 
pestilent fellow whose sole talent was that 
of intrigue. His pretension, plotting and 
perfidy cannot be drawn in lines too 
black, nor the injustice and cruelty of the 
Congress too harsh. Its action, deplored 
by Washington, who admired and trusted 
Schuyler implicitly, is a lamentable epi- 
sode of the Revolution. The attempt, 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



however, to transfer the laurels of the 
decisive day — October 17, 1777 — from the 
brow of an enlightened and upright sol- 
dier to that of a braggart and poltroon, 
who babbled in his tent, while his lieu- 
tenants fought, was a dismal failure. 
Public opinion righted itself. The court 
martial, which Schuyler demanded, vindi- 
cated him at every point, and his unsul- 
lied name stands high on the roll ot the 
heroes of the republic. Gates, who never 
had an honest thought nor did a noble 
deed, finished his despicable career in the 
ignominy of Camden. 

With the finding of the court and its 
approval by the Congress "with the high- 
est honors," General Schuyler felt that 
his self-respect constrained the resigna- 
tion of his commission, which he tendered 
accordingly. It was accepted with ex- 
pressions of deep regret by the same 
body that had treated him so unfairly ; 
but, at the request of Washington, he 
busied himself in the commissariat de- 
partment, again pledging his personal 
credit to meet its needs. He also assisted 
Robert Morris in the management of the 
continental finances and continued his 
negotiations with the Indian tribes. In 
October, 1781, he was again returned to 
Congress, in which he served three ses- 
sions. For the ensuing twenty years he 
was continually in the public service of 
the state or nation — a state senator from 
1780 to 1797, barring absences when he 
was a United States Senator; Commis- 
sioner of the Massachusetts boundary in 
1783 and of the Pennsylvania in 1785; 
surveyor-general, 1781-84; Regent of the 
University, 1787-1804; United States 
Senator, the first elected from New York, 
1789-91 and 1797-98, regarded as a leader, 
and resigning because of ill health. He 
acted consistently with the Federalist 
party, earnestly supporting the economic 



and political policies of Hamilton, who 
had married his daughter, Elizabeth, in 
1780. In neither of the legislative bodies 
to which he was accredited was he con- 
spicuous as an orator, although, as oc- 
casion required, he spoke clearly and co- 
gently ; but in each he demonstrated his 
executive ability — in the one by strength- 
ening nationality and in the other by his 
zeal in developing the resources and pro- 
moting the internal improvements of the 
state. He was among the first to sug- 
gest, and earnest in support of the canal 
system of the state, employing his capital 
and solving the mathematical and engi- 
neering problems pertaining to its evo- 
lution, and he distinguished himself as a 
champion of the democratic principle of 
the divorce of church and state. If New 
York has had in her legislative halls men 
of greater eloquence, she has had none 
whose acts have been more serviceable 
or beneficial to her than those of Philip 
Schuyler. 

His latter days were those of suffering 
and sorrow — bodily infirmities and family 
bereavements. His lifelong enemy, the 
gout, tormented him incessantly ; and as 
his end drew near, he was called to mourn 
the loss of his dearly beloved wife and the 
tragic passing of Hamilton to whom he 
was devotedly attached. He survived 
their deaths but a few months, expiring 
November 18, 1804. He had lost several 
children in their infancy, but eight be- 
came well established in life — John B. ; 
Philip J.; Van Rensselaer; Mrs. John B. 
Church ; Mrs. Alexander Hamilton ; Mrs. 
Stephen Van Rensselaer ; Mrs. Washing- 
ton Mortin ; and Mrs. Cochran. His 
biography has been written by Benson J. 
Lossing and Bayard Tuckerman ; and his 
worth is glowingly attested by John Fiske 
in "The American Revolution." 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



FLOYD, General Williaixi, 

Revolutionary Soldier. 

The founder of this family in America 
was Richard Floyd, born in Brecknock- 
shire, Wales, about 1620. In 1653 he 
came to Boston, having left his native 
country probably on religious grounds. 
The Puritan restrictions were unpleasant, 
and in 1655 he bought land from the In- 
dians, at Setauket, Long Island, and set 
up a community which he intended 
should be governed after Presbyterian 
usages. He died about 1690. 

Richard Floyd, son of Richard Floyd, 
was born at Setauket, Long Island, May 
12, 1661. He was one of the judges of 
the court of common pleas, and colonel 
of militia. He died in 1737. He married 
Margaret Nicolls, daughter of Matthias 
Nicolls, secretary to the Duke of York's 
commission, who captured New York 
from the Dutch, and became the first 
governor of the province of New York 
under the English rule. 

Nicolls Floyd, son of Richard and Mar- 
garet (Nicolls) Floyd, settled on a farm 
in Mastic. 

General William Floyd, eldest son of 
Nicolls Floyd, was born at Mastic, Long 
Island, December 17, 1734. He received 
the usual education given at that time 
to farmers' sons. He early developed 
sterling traits of character, was a useful 
member of the community, took a deep 
interest in the spiritual welfare of the 
people, and was outspoken and pro- 
nounced in his advocacy of the people's 
rights when the crisis with the mother 
country was approaching. Early in life 
he was an officer in the Suffolk county 
militia ; was colonel of the First Suffolk 
county regiment in 1775; and after the 
war was commissioned major-general. 
The most important incident of his mili- 
tary career was a hurried call to prevent 
a small boat landing on Long Island. 



early in the Revolutionary period. His 
talents were better suited to the halls of 
legislature than to the field. After serv- 
ing a short time in the provincial assem- 
bly, in 1774 he was a delegate to the first 
Continental Congress, and he was one of 
those who from the beginning favored the 
independence of the colonies. He con- 
tinued by successive reappointments a 
member of every Continental Congress to 
1782, inclusive, and he was the first of 
the New York delegates to affix his signa- 
ture to the Declaration of Independence. 
At the same time, from 1777 to 1783, he 
was a State Senator under the first con- 
stitution of New York, under appoint- 
ment by Congress, Long Island being in 
the British possession, so that an election 
could not be held. From 1784 to 1788 
he was returned to Congress by election. 
In 1787-89 he was a member of the coun- 
cil of appointment ; was a presidential 
elector in 1792, 1800 and 1804; and in 
1801 he represented Suffolk county in the 
constitutional convention. He was an 
early and warm supporter of Jefferson. 
During the British occupation of Long 
Island, his farm was in possession of the 
army, and his family took refuge in 
Canada. This property was devastated, 
and the house left uninhab'*^abie. When 
General Floyd returned after an absence 
of six years, he was amazed at the havoc 
which had been wrought. In 1784 he 
purchased a tract of land in Western 
township, Oneida county. New York, and 
resided there in fairly affluent circum- 
stances until his death, August 4, 1821. 

He married (first) a daughter of Wil- 
liam Jones, of Southampton, Long Island 
Their children were: i. Nicol, took the 
old property at Mastic, was active in local 
affairs, and a member of the New York 
Assembly, 1799-1800-01. 2. Mary, mar- 
ried Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, of Rev- 
olutionary fame. 3. Catherine, married 
Dr. Samuel Clarkson, of Philadelphia. 




WILLIAM FLOYD 




©E(D 



a=DWT®R9 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



General Floyd married (second) a daugh- 
ter of Benajah Strong, of Setauket. Their 
children were: i. Anna, married (first) 
George Clinton, son of Vice-President 
Clinton, and (second) Abraham Varick, 
of New York. 2. Elira, married James 
Piatt, of Utica, New York. 



CLINTON, George, 

Soldier, Stateaman, First Governor. 

George Clinton, resolute of soul and 
sturdy of frame, yet with a magnetic qual- 
ity that attracted support and with con- 
summate art in utilizing it, democratic to 
the hearts core, is a colossal figure in the 
Valhalla of the Empire State. 

He came of a soldierly line. His first 
ancestor, of whom there is authentic rec- 
ord, was Charles Clinton, an officer in the 
royalist army, and in the proscription that 
followed the fall of Charles I., his estates 
being confiscated, he fled to France, where 
he remained several years in exile. He 
afterward settled and died in Ireland, 
leaving one son. This son, James, on 
arriving at maturity, went to England, in 
a vain quest to recover his patrimonial 
acres and, while there, married the daugh- 
ter of a Captain Smith, of Cromwell's 
army, and returned to Ireland. Charles 
Clinton, the son of this marriage, and the 
father of George, was born in the county 
of Longford, Ireland, in 1690: married 
Elizabeth Denniston, a true helpmate both 
in his domestic concerns and patriotic 
labors ; was a man of substance and in- 
fluence in his region. In 1729 he re- 
solved to emigrate to America, inducing 
some seventy of his neighbors and friends 
to join in the enterprise. After various 
mishaps of the long voyage they landed 
on Massachusetts bay, staying there until 
1731, and then hewing the trees and set- 
ting their stakes in the wilderness of 
Ulster county. New York, naming the 
township Little Britain — the beginnings 



of an intelligent, prosperous and God- 
fearing community, Presbyterian in faith, 
with Clinton as the ruling spirit. He had 
lieen educated as a civil engineer and fre- 
quently acted as a surveyor in his new 
home, but he also became a lawyer and, 
in due time, was appointed judge of the 
court of common pleas of his county ; but 
further, the impulse of his heredity and 
the immediate necessity of fortifying the 
infant settlement against savage incur- 
sions inclined him to military employ- 
ment. He was made lieutenant-colonel 
of the militia of his county. In the French 
and Indian war, he had a wider field of 
action. Early in 1758, he was in com- 
mand of a regiment of provincial troops 
in the valley of the Mohawk and, in the 
summer of the same year, he served as 
colonel in the main British army, under 
General Bradstreet, and jiarticipated in 
the ca])ture of Fort Frontenac, his sons, 
James and George, accompanying liim — 
the one as a captain and the other as a 
lieutenant. Colonel Clinton died at his 
residence in Little I'ritain, November 19, 
1773, while the portents of the Revolution 
were clearly discernible, with his last 
breath entreating his sons to be faithful 
to colonial liberties. 

George Clinton, the youngest of the 
four sons (Alexander, Charles, James, 
George) was born at Little Britain, July 
26, 1739. Fie was of quick parts and 
studious habits, but also revealed early 
an enterprising spirit, and may well have 
vied with Alexander Hamilton, the West 
India youth, with whom he was, in after 
years, to engage in political strife, in 
wishing that "there might be a war." At 
any rate, adventure was no small part of 
his career. At sixteen, he was a privateer 
in the second French-Indian war. and, at 
twenty, as already indicated, an officer in 
the expedition against Frontenac, in which 
he evinced his daring by the seizure of 
one of the enemy's vessels. In the in- 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



terval of peace that ensued, he was, in 
1764, admitted to the bar, and subse- 
quently was clerk and surrogate of Ulster 
county; and was, until his death, nearly 
fifty years later, almost continuously in 
the public service, either in the State or 
Nation, in military or civil capacity. In 
1769, he was chosen to the colonial assem- 
bly, and was conspicuous in his denuncia- 
tion of British aggressions. He was in 
the "Committee of Correspondence" in 
1774; in the third Provincial Congress; 
and in the convention of 1777, which 
adopted the first State constitution, al- 
though his military duties prevented his 
constant attendance upon its delibera- 
tions ; for, in the same year he was com- 
missioned a brigadier-general, with desig- 
nated duty in the southerly region of 
the Hudson — the "dark and debatable 
ground." He was elected the first gov- 
ernor of the State by a considerable plur- 
ality over General Philip Schuyler — the 
votes of Orange and other southern coun- 
ties, where he was best known, turning 
the scale in his favor. He was sworn in 
at Kingston, July 30. 1777. Thenceforth, 
he is to be classed politically as a Repub- 
lican, although the two parties, which, 
for more than a century, have contended 
for supremacy at the ballot box, were not 
definitely organized until more than a 
decade had intervened — the one. Repub- 
lican, with Jefferson as its leader; and 
the other. Federal, with Hamilton as its 
chief. With but the single intermission 
of Jay's two terms — 1796-1801 — Clinton 
occupied the executive chair until 1805 — 
a period of twenty-two years — by far the 
longest gubernatorial incumbency in the 
State — and. as one of his biographers 
(John S. Jenkins), perhaps not too fer- 
vently recites, "the same relations, that 
Washington sustained to the Union, he 
bore to New York — the one was the 
Father of his Country, and the other the 
Pater Patriae of his native state." 



While hostilities lasted, the Governor 
was almost wholly engaged in providing 
for the public defense, as civil executive 
and commander-in-chief of the militia, 
vibrating between desk and camp, as exi- 
gencies required. New York was bear- 
ing the brunt of the conflict, with the 
city held by British legions, Westchester 
overrun by guerillas and a "Reign of 
Terror" in the Mohawk valley ; but there 
were the glory of Oriskany and Saratoga 
and Clinton's vigilance and valor in the 
Highlands; and he fitly rode, side by 
side with Washington, through Broad- 
way at the head of the jubilant American 
troops on November 25, 1783 — Evacua- 
tion Day. Throughout his tenure as gov- 
ernor, the legislature was almost uni- 
formly in accord with him — the indubi- 
table evidence of his masterful will in the 
affairs of the commonwealth. His hatred 
of the Tories was stern and unrelenting 
and his fealty to the State impassioned 
and unflinching. New York, with a ma- 
jority of her citizens faithful to the cause 
of freedom, contained a large number — 
especially in the metropolis — probably a 
larger proportion than any colony, of ad- 
herents to the crown : men of wealth and 
distinction ; families allied to the Eng- 
lish aristocracy ; holders of lucrative 
places, peculiarly exasperating in their 
conduct ; and the landed proprietors of 
the Mohawk, who, leagued with the Iro- 
quois, wrought desolation and death in 
the interior — all of whom exasperated 
patriots of the Clinton type against them. 
Hence the confiscation law of 1779, the 
subsequent acts of disfranchisement and 
banishment and the flight of the Loyal- 
i.-'ts, it being estimated that one hundred 
thousand persons sought refuge in Nova 
Scotia and elsewhere against the pre- 
scriptive enactments of the State. 

Governor Clinton was, at the first, a 
determined and, from his position, the 
most formidable foe of the impending 



10 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



nation. He was the protagonist of the 
sovereignty of the State and he thought 
honestly that he could thus perpetuate its 
integrity and advance its fortunes ; and, 
in the review, it does not seem fair to 
impute his attitude, as some recent writers 
have done (notably, Arnold in his essay 
on Hamilton, page 19) to mere selfish- 
ness — the fear that the "more perfect 
union" would diminish his own power 
and importance. He believed that the 
State could stand alone — at least that in 
entering the Union it should not be cur- 
tailed of any of its chartered rights. In 
this he was at one with Samuel Adams, 
the herald of the Revolution, and Patrick 
Henry, its challenger to arms. He knew 
that independence was that of thirteen 
distinct political entities, each with its 
own grievances redressed, its own insti- 
tutions intact, its own destiny to fulfill. 
His sincerity is unquestionable. His 
vision of the prosperity, grandeur and 
dominion of New York was beatific. He 
viewed her magnificent domain, stretch- 
ing from the seaboard to the great lakes 
and the St. Lawrence ; the crystalline 
beauty of her inland lakes ; the valleys of 
the Genesee, the Mohawk and the Dela- 
ware — their fertile acres, their vineyards 
and fruited trees ; her superb mountain 
ranges ; her queenly river with the spaci- 
ous harbor at its mouth ; the scepter of 
commence passing from the Thames to 
the Hudson. He foresaw the Empire 
State — none more clearly — and to the 
realization of the vision he dedicated his 
energies — his earnestness, his courage, 
his surpassing faculty for command. 

The Legislature of 1787, at the instance 
of Clinton, elected Yates, Lansing and 
Hamilton as delegates to the Constitu- 
tional Convention at Philadelphia, declar- 
ing, however, in accordance with the call 
of Congress to that effect, that they were 
appointed "for the sole and express pur- 
pose of revising the Articles of Confed- 



eration and reporting to Congress and 
the several legislatures such alterations 
and amendments therein as should, 
when agreed to in Congress and con- 
firmed by the States under the Federal 
Constitution, be adequate to the exi- 
gencies of the government and the preser- 
vation of the States." Hamilton was a 
member of the Assembly this year, and 
his opinions in favor of a cohesive na- 
tional government were freely expressed 
and thoroughly understood. Hammond 
somewhat euphemistically observes that 
the "election of the most zealous and ultra 
opponent of the dictum of the majority 
afforded a demonstration of the liberality 
with which parties of the day treated each 
other." Rather, let it be ascribed to Clin- 
ton's magnanimity, for, by the lifting of 
his finger, he could have defeated Hamil- 
ton. The Philadelphia convention as- 
sumed the responsibility of making a con- 
stitution ab initio instead of tinkering the 
articles, and, with Hamilton signing and 
Yates and Lansing refusing, ratification 
thereof by New York was remanded to 
the State convention at Poughkeepsie in 
1788, of which Clinton was president, and 
in which two-thirds of the delegates were 
Republicans like himself. Hamilton's 
memorable triumph emphasized else- 
where in this volume (biography of Ham- 
ilton) need not be here rehearsed, but 
Clinton could truthfully assert, from his 
standpoint, that "out of the nettle danger, 
we've plucked the flower, safety." Ham- 
ilton's oratorical threat that if the con- 
vention did not ratify, Manhattan, West- 
chester and Kings counties would secede 
from New York and form a State by 
themselves was, in the last analysis, tanta- 
mount to the principle of separate sov- 
ereignty, for which Clinton contended. 
Clinton, in the chair, took small, if any, 
part in the debates of the floor ; but to his 
influence more than to that of any other 
man was due the recommendation of the 



II 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



amendments which were later incorpor- 
ated in the Federal Constitution, viz. : the 
insertion of the bill of rights, the restora- 
tion of the limitations on the powers of 
the Congress and the reservation to the 
States of all powers not granted in the 
instrument. Clinton did not vote on rati- 
fication, probably regarding such action 
as improper, except on the occurrence of 
a tie vote in the body over which he pre- 
sided. How he felt in the matter is evi- 
denced in his message to the Legislature, 
referring to the proposed amendments, 
wherein he says: "A declaration of rights, 
with certain explanations, are inserted in 
order to remove doubtful constructions, 
and to guard against undue and improper 
administration, and that it was assented 
to in the express confidence that the ex- 
ercise of different powers would be sus- 
pended until it (the constitution) should 
undergo a revision by a general conven- 
tion of the States * * * Nothing 
short of the fullest confidence of obtain- 
ing such revision could have prevailed 
upon a sufficient number to have ratified 
it without stipulating for previous amend- 
ments." As finally amended, Clinton 
acted in good faith in supporting the con- 
stitution and served the nation as Vice- 
President from 1805 until his death, giv- 
ing, in tSii, the memorable casting vote 
in the Senate that defeated the recharter- 
ing of the United States Bank. He re- 
ceived votes in the electoral colleges, for 
President, as follows: In 1879, three; in 
1792, fifty: in 1796. three, and in 1808, 
six. 

P)Ut it is upon his conduct as governor 
that his fame chiefly rests, fully justify- 
ing the estimate of Washington in a letter 
to the Committee of Safety on the occa- 
sion of his first election : "His character 
will make him peculiarly useful at the 
head of your State." His administration 
throughout was not only useful, but 
highly meritorious. If it was intensely 



partisan, it was also intensely devoted to 
the interests of the commonwealth. 
Among its acts, some of them illustrious, 
are the quelling of the riots in New York 
City, known as the "doctor's mob " — the 
local magistracy being overawed by the 
fury of the populace, an end being put to 
the disturbance only by the calling out of 
the militia; the revision of the criminal 
code, whereby the death penalty was 
abolished in all save capital cases ; the 
organization of the society for the promo- 
tion of agriculture, the arts and manu- 
factures ; the formation of the Northern 
and Western Inland Lock Navigation 
companies, with subsidies to each, to im- 
prove the navigation of the Hudson and 
the Mohawk and to connect Oneida 
and Ontario lakes with the latter and 
Clianiplain with the former — the entering 
edge of the system of inland waterways, 
which was pushed and perfected by his 
nephew, DeWitt ; and above all, the en- 
couragement of education. Clinton's being 
the first potent voice urging the establish- 
ment of the common school and the super- 
vision of secondary, higher and profes- 
sional education by the University of the 
State, of which he was the first chancellor. 
While still Vice-President and not un- 
reasonably expecting to be preferred for 
the Presidency, George Clinton died in 
Washington, April 20, 1812, at the age of 
seventy-three, and is buried in the old 
Congressional cemetery. He had mar- 
ried Cornelia Tappan, daughter of a sub- 
stantial Dutch burgher of Kingston, Oc- 
tober 28, 1769. Their children were: 
Catharine, married to General Pierre Van 
Cortlandt : Cornelia, married to '"Citizen" 
Genet ; George Washington, married 
Anna, daughter of the Hon. William 
Floyd ; Elizabeth, married to Judge Tall- 
madge ; Martha W., died young; and 
Maria, married to Dr. Stephen Beekman. 
In domestic life he was as pure as in 
social and business life he was upright, 



12 




JOHN JAY 



Prominent statesman and lurlst; Governor. 1795-1801 ; first Chief Justice of U. 5 
Supreme Courl, 1789-95; special Minister to Gt. Brllaln, 1794-5; delegate to tile Con- 
gress, 1774 6. 1778 9; drew up New York's Constitution. 1777; U.S. Minister to Spain, 
1 780-2; Peace Commissioner at Paris. I 782-3 ; Sec'y for Foreign Affairs. I 784-9. Born 
at New York, Dec. 12, 1745; died at Bedford, N, Y.. May 17, 1829. From the original 
painting by Gilbert Stuart. 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and in public life great — an exemplar of 
his virtues. "The Public Papers of Gov- 
ernor George Clinton," edited by his 
grandnephew, the Hon. George W. Clin- 
ton, have been printed by the State. 



JAY, John, 

Statesman, Jnriit, Diplomat. 

By the extent, variety and importance 
of his service as statesman, jurist and 
diplomat ; by his intellectual quality, in 
which clearness of perception and wis- 
dom of judgment are pre-eminent ; and by 
the purity, strength and devotion to prin- 
ciple of his character, John Jay holds an 
exalted place among the makers and 
moulders of the State and nation, entitled 
to our gratitude and veneration. 

He was born, the eighth child and sixth 
son, of Peter Jay and Mary, the daughter 
of Jacobus Van Cortlandt, December 12, 
1745, in the City of New York, where 
his father was a prominent merchant. He 
came of sterling stock. In the male line, 
he was of French Huguenot, and in the 
maternal, of Dutch descent — both distin- 
guished for a love of civil and religious 
liberty — each suffering persecution and 
even death in behalf of the latter. Of 
his great-grandparents, three were French 
and five Dutch, so that he could say, as 
he did in 1796, "not being of British de- 
scent, I cannot be influenced by that ten- 
dency toward their national character, 
nor that partiality for it, which might 
otherwise be supposed to be not un- 
natural." His great-grandfather, Pierre, 
an opulent trader of La Rochelle, left 
France on the revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes, the larger part of his property 
being confiscated. Upon the remnant he 
lived in England. His son, Augustus, 
the founder of the .American family, was 
in Africa at the time of his parent's flight. 
Returning to La Rochelle and finding 
himself in perilous circumstances, he left 



there for the United States ; and after 
various adventures and reverses, includ- 
ing capture by a privateer and imprison- 
ment at St. Maloes, he reached New 
York, where, in 1686, he settled, and, a 
year later, married Anna Maria, a daugh- 
ter of Balthazar Bayard, thus becoming 
allied with a leading family, much to his 
commercial advantage. His business was 
with foreign countries. He prospered 
financially, was esteemed by his fellow 
citizens and died in 1751, at the age of 
eighty-six. His son, Peter, succeeded 
him and accumulated a fortune, large for 
the day ; was highly regarded for his up- 
rightness and piety ; was an alderman of 
the city and a zealous Whig; and retir- 
ing, at the age of forty, bought a country 
house and farm at Rye, Westchester 
county, where he lived many years, with 
means greatly reduced at the last, because 
of the war, but permitted to see his fav- 
orite son honored throughout the land. 
His precepts and example were durably 
impressed upon that son and materially 
directed his ambition. 

How sharp the spur of worthy ancestry 
When kindred virtues fan the generous mind. 

The household at Rye was well ordered 
and God-fearing, with closely knit ties of 
affection. The father ruled mildly, yet 
firmly. The mother was a cultivated 
woman of fine imagination and lovely 
disposition. Both were devoted to the 
education of their children. To John, 
bright and engaging, of studious habit 
and somewhat retiring manner, she taught 
the rudiments of English and Latin gram- 
mar. Before he was eight years of age, 
his father wrote: "John takes to learn- 
ing exceeding well ;" and, a little later, 
said : "My Johnny gives us a pleasing 
prospect, as endowed with a very good 
cipacity and is fond of his hooks." A 
grammar school and a private tutor fitted 
him for college; and. at fourteen, he en- 



13 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



tered Kings, graduating in 1764, with the 
Latin salutatory, then regarded as the 
highest commencement honor. His col- 
lege life was in all ways creditable to him 
both in mind and morals. Among his 
mates were Gouverneur Morris and Rob- 
ert R. Livingston, both lifelong friends, 
although Livingston and Jay were not 
always in political accord. Having chosen 
law as his profession, Jay, during his 
senior year, read "De jure belli et pacis," 
of Grotius ; and, within a month after 
graduation, entered the office of Benja- 
min Kissam, a leading New York barris- 
ter, as an apprentice; in due time became 
a student and, in 1768, was admitted to 
the bar. With his own ability and the 
favor of the Bayards, the Van Cortlandts 
and the Livingstons, with whom various 
marriages connected him, he soon ac- 
quired a remunerative office practice and 
an honorable standing in the courts. He 
married, April 28, 1774, at "Liberty Hall," 
Elizabeth, New Jersey, Sarah, the beauti- 
ful and accomplished daughter of Wil- 
liam Livingston, the famous war gov- 
ernor of New Jersey, and the author of 
literary poetical and political publications 
of wide repute. His letters to his wife 
(in Jay's Jay) testify to the harmony and 
happiness of their long wedded life. He 
was when married a slender, graceful 
man, with refined, handsome, serious face. 
an appearance which never essentially 
changed, save that the advancing years 
accentuated the intellectual cast of his 
features. 

In 1774, Jay may be said to have begun 
his public career, although he had been 
a year previously, secretary of the Royal 
Commission to pass upon the contested 
boundary line between New York and 
Connecticut — a routine office, in the line 
of his profession. The controversies be- 
tween colonies and crown had now be- 
come acute and were ominous of revo- 
lution — of that revolution which was. 



under any circumstances, inevitable. 
Given a people conquering a virgin soil, 
evolving an individual civilization, re- 
mote from the seat of the overlord, with 
vested rights of local autonomy ; and na- 
tionality must ensue, the law thereof 
being as certain in its operation as that 
of gravitation. The Declaration but an- 
nounced the inevitable. At the time in- 
dicated, the patriotic movement in New 
York included two sections, the Tribunes 
and the Patricians, respectively so-called 
— the one ardent to hasten, the other calm 
to postpone, perhaps, hoping to avoid, the 
gage of battle. Jay represented the latter 
class. The trend of his thought then, as 
always, was against precipitate action. 
He would have opportunity wait upon re- 
flection. As a member of the New York 
Citizens' Committee of fifty-one, super- 
seding the radical Committee of Vigi- 
lance that demanded instant violence, he, 
patriotic to his heart's core, and recog- 
nizing revolution as vindicatory of char- 
tered rights, held that further representa- 
tions, by colonial concert, should occur 
before the appeal to arms was made. 
Upon the Boston town meeting, there- 
fore, the committee in a draft, credited to 
Jay, urged that "a Congress of Deputies 
from the Colonies in General is of the 
utmost moment," to form "some unani- 
mous resolutions * * * ,^ot only re- 
specting your (Boston's) deplorable cir- 
cumstances, but for the security of our 
common interests." 

This suggestion materialized in the first 
Continental Congress, which met in Car- 
penter's Hall, Philadelphia, September 5, 
and in it Jay was a delegate. Thence- 
forth, his pen appears as among the busi- 
est in official service. He wrote the ad- 
dress to the people of Great Britain, at- 
testing the loyalty of the colonies, re- 
hearsing the restraints upon commerce, 
the unjust taxation, the infractions of 
constitutional rights, indicating redress to 



14 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



be obtained and admonishing them, as 
they valued their own liberties, not to 
trample upon those of their fellow sub- 
jects — an address that Jefferson, without 
knowing the author, declared came from 
the first pen in America and Webster 
esteemed as "standing at the head of the 
incomparable productions of the first 
Congress." He was active in the com- 
mittee of one hundred citizens of New 
York, invested with plenary powers of 
government temporarily, and prepared a 
letter to the Mayor and Livery of Lon- 
don recapitulating American grievances 
and asserting that the country would 
never submit to parliamentary taxation. 
In the second Congress, he wrote ad- 
dresses to the people of Ireland and of 
Canada invoking their co-operation in 
measures of resistance ; and moved the 
last unavailing petition to the king, which 
was written by Dickinson. Meanwhile 
war was on. Lexington was fought — an 
armed aggression by the British ; and 
Washington assumed command at Cam- 
bridge. In the extremity, Jay became an 
advocate of independence. Slowly, but 
surely, temperately yet logically, he 
reached this conclusion. 

Having been elected to the third Pro- 
vincial Congress, in April, 1776, without 
the vacation of his seat in the Continental 
Congress, he was compelled to be in con- 
stant attendance upon the State body, 
and, therefore, was denied the privilege 
of signing the Declaration. The fourth 
Provincial Congress, changed its name 
on July 10 to the "Convention of the Rep- 
resentatives of the State of New York," 
and assumed to adopt a State constitu- 
tion, April 20, 1777, its original draft 
being by Jay, which, with slight modifica- 
tions, was approved by the convention 
and remained the organic law of the com- 
monwealth for forty-four years. It was 
of a decidedly Federalist cast, as witness 
the retention of the colonial judicial sys- 



tem, the institution of councils of revision 
and appointment, the imposition upon the 
elective franchise of considerable prop- 
erty qualifications, the major number of 
appointive and the lesser number of elec- 
tive offices, assemblymen elective by 
counties and senators by districts, and 
the choice of Congressmen by the Legis- 
lature. Always inimical to the institution 
of domestic slavery, he deeply regretted 
the non-insertion of a section prohibiting 
it. Pending the installation of the perma- 
nent government, the convention created 
a Council of Safety, to which administra- 
tion was entrusted, for the time, and by 
which Jay was appointed chief justice of 
the Supreme Court. He was reappointed 
by the executive and held until his resig- 
nation, August 20, 1779. Meanwhile, by 
virtue of "the special case" clause of the 
constitution, the Legislature appointed 
him to Congress, without voiding his ju- 
dicial tenure. He returned to Congress, 
December 7, 1778, the "special case" being 
the settlement of the disputed State 
boundaries, which was accomplished by 
submitting it to arbitration by commis- 
sioners representing New York, New 
Hampshire and Vermont. He was soon 
elected president of Congress and wrote 
the admirable circular letter from that 
body to its constituents, under date of 
September 13, 1779. He resigned his seat, 
two weeks later, to accept the Spanish 
mission and his diplomatic career opened. 
He spent two years in dangling his 
heels at the Madrid court, in a vain en- 
deavor to perfect an alliance with Spain, 
including, among other things, the right 
to the navigation of the Mississippi and 
the definition of the Florida boundaries, 
subsequently adjusted. Retiring from 
Madrid and reaching Paris, June 3, 1782, 
he became one of the five commissioners 
— Adams. Franklin. Jefferson and Laurens 
being the others — to negotiate for peace. 
The treatv of Paris was concluded Sep- 



15 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



tember 3, 1783; and to the frankness (an 
unusual diplomatic trait), resolution and 
courtesy of Jay the larger credit for its 
determination, so favorable to American 
interests, was generally accorded. The 
following points as especially presented 
by him were his refusal to treat without 
the prior acknowledgment of independ- 
ence ; the detection of the hostile designs 
of Vergennes, the French minister; and 
the incorporation of the provisions relat- 
ing to the territorial extent of the United 
States, the navigation of the Mississippi 
and the fisheries' rights. Plaudits were 
showered upon him at home and abroad. 
John Adams, always chary of praise of 
his contemporaries, called him "the Wash- 
ington of negotiation." He returned to 
New York, July 24, 1784, having been ab- 
sent some five years, and was welcomed 
with an address by the corporation and 
the freedom of the city in a gold box, "as 
a pledge of our affection and of our sin- 
cere wishes for your happiness ;" and con- 
gratulatory messages poured upon him 
from every quarter of the land. 

Shortly before his return, he had again 
been elected to Congress, an election re- 
newed October 26; but on December 26 
he resigned to accept the secretaryship 
of Foreign Affairs for the Confederacy, 
the duties of which he discharged with 
his accustomed fidelity and decorum until 
the constitutional government was insti- 
tuted in 1789. He was also notably influ- 
ential in securing the ratification of the 
Federal constitution. In that behalf, he 
he contributed to the "Federalist" five 
numbers and published an address to the 
people of New York ; and, as a delegate 
to the convention at Poughkeepsie, in the 
summer of 1788, his services were of 
great weight, second only if comparison 
be made to those of Hamilton. Imme- 
diately upon his accession. President 
Washington offered Jay the choice of any 
of the principal Federal offices and he 



selected that of chief justice, both be- 
cause of its dignity and its supreme im- 
portance in the initial period of the re- 
public. It was not, however, until early 
in 1790 that he exercised its functions, 
acting, ad interim, as Secretary of State, 
awaiting Jefferson's arrival from France, 
who had been nominated for the place. 
During the short incumbency of his high 
office by Jay, of whom W^ebster said, 
"When the ermine of the judicial robe 
fell on John Jay, it touched nothing less 
spotless than itself," causes were not nu- 
merous ; "yet three great facts were de- 
termined once for all : The dignity of the 
court was vindicated from encroachment 
by the Federal executive and legislative 
departments ; its jurisdiction was estab- 
lished over the State governments (an- 
ticipating Marshall) ; and incidentally 
Jay announced and determined that 
foreign policy of the United States which 
has been accepted and followed from that 
day to this" ( Pellen's "Jay," page 264). 

During his term, two grave episodes 
occurred, the one political — the canvass 
for Governor — and the other diplomatic 
— the treaty with Great Britain, which 
bears his name. In 1792, in the effort to 
oust Clinton from the gubernatorial chair, 
that he had held for fifteen years, the 
Federalists induced Jay to stand for the 
succession. The canvass was hotly and 
bitterly contested and he was elected by 
a decisive majority as the ballots were 
cast; but the State canvassers rejected 
the votes of three counties on purely tech- 
nical grounds and Clinton was once more 
inducted into office. A furious storm of 
indignation swept over the State, violence 
seemed imminent and an inconclusive 
legislative investigation was had. Some 
of Clinton's friends advised him to sur- 
render, but Clinton stuck to his post. Jay 
met the result with entire equanimity, 
counseling moderation and submission on 
the part of his friends, a course which an- 



16 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



other distinguished New Yorker emulated 
in the Presidential imbroglio of eighty- 
five years later. In 1794 the relations be- 
tween the United States and Great Britain 
were strained badly, portending war ; and 
the Republican party, in its frenzied sym- 
pathy for France, then fighting with Eng- 
land, shouted for it. President Washing- 
ton, anxious for peace, knew that it could 
only be secured by immediate negotia- 
tion. To this end he requested the chief 
justice to act as special envoy to Great 
Britain. Jay accepted, from an exalted 
sense of duty, foreseeing the personal in- 
jury he might incur from a powerful 
party determined in advance to execrate 
any treaty whatever its terms. He reach- 
ed England June 8, and, after prolonged 
conferences, the treaty was signed No- 
vember 19. Jay returned to New York, 
May 28, 1795, having been elected Gov- 
ernor in March, as a Federalist, the re- 
sentment at the wrong perpetrated, three 
years previously, materially contributing 
to that result. It is more than doubtful 
that he could have succeeded had the 
treaty then been promulgated. It was a 
treaty by which the principal, if not all, 
of the American grievances were com- 
posed and war was averted ; of which Jay 
himself said : "They should always bear 
in mind that this was not a trial of diplo- 
matic fencing, but a solemn question of 
peace or war between two peoples, in 
whose veins flowed the blood of a com- 
mon ancestry and whose continued good 
understanding might, perhaps, defend the 
future freedom and happiness of the hu- 
man race." It was not published until 
July 3 ; and then the storm of vitupera- 
tion and calumny burst upon him. He 
was accused of being bought with Brit- 
ish gold, branded as a traitor and burned 
in effigy. Reaction, however, in favor of 
the treaty, in due time set in, as its bene- 
fits to American commerce and territory 
were revealed ; and impartial history re- 

N Y-Vol 1-2 



cords it as a masterpiece of diplomacy. 
It is needless to say that, conscious of 
his rectitude and confident of vindication, 
he bore detraction with becoming tran- 
quility and made no reply. 

Jay, during his first term, so commend- 
ed himself to popular regard by the pur- 
ity of his administration that his re-elec- 
tion followed, although the fortunes of 
his party were on the wane and his oppo- 
nent was Chancellor Livingston, a man of 
great wealth, attractive manners and 
proved capacity. Among the achieve- 
ments of the second term were the ad- 
vances made in the efficiency of the com- 
mon school system and the abolition of 
slavery in the State. Although a staunch 
P"ederalist, he manifested a manly inde- 
pendence of party trammels by refusing 
to remove officials of the opposite faith, 
save for cause, or engaging in party 
schemes involving a violation -of princi- 
ples. Relieved of official cares, in 1801, 
he repaired to his estate at Bedford and 
there resided for twenty-eight years, in 
dignified and scholarly retirement; in con- 
genial agricultural pursuits ; in friendly 
correspondence ; mindful of, if not partici- 
pating in public afifairs and identified with 
various philanthropic associations. He 
was, for some time, president of the 
American Bible Society. He had received 
the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws 
from several colleges. At the outset, his 
happiness was clouded by the death of 
his beloved wife; but he found consola- 
tion in the Protestant Episcopal com- 
munion, of which he was a devoted mem- 
ber. Of frail health for two years before, 
he died at Bedford, May 14, 1829, in the 
eighty-fourth year of his age and was 
buried in the family graveyard at Rye. 
He left two sons, viz. : the late Hon. 
Peter .Augustus Jay, member of assem- 
bly, recorder of New York and delegate 
to the Constitutional Convention of 1821, 
and the Hon. William Jay, judge of the 



17 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



court of common pleas for Westchester, 
and four daughters. The latest head of 
the family is the Hon. William Jay, of 
Bedford and New York City. Judge Jay 
edited the life and letters of his father 
(two volumes). There are also biog- 
raphies of Jay by Flanders, Whitelock 
and Pellen, the latter in the American 
Statesmen series. 



LIVINGSTON, Robert R., 

liegislator, Jarist, Diplomat. 

Robert Livingston, the founder of the 
family in America, traced his ancestral 
line, through three successive Scotch 
ministers, to William, the fourth Lord 
Livingston of Callender. His father, 
John, was a non-conformist preacher of 
Ancrum, who found in Holland a refuge 
from both religious and political persecu- 
tion. Robert, born at Ancrum in 1654, 
was, upon his father's death, in 1672, 
thrown upon his own resources and, emi- 
grating to the New World, settled in Al- 
bany and married, in 1679, Alida Schuy- 
ler, widow of Dominie Nicholas Van 
Rensselaer, thereby contracting intimate 
relations with these two prominent fam- 
ilies. He became a man of large affairs, 
held various local offices of trust, nar- 
rowly escaped execution at the instance of 
Acting Governor Leisler, and acquired a 
fortune as a merchant ; purchased, mainly 
from the Indians, in the counties of Al- 
bany and Dutchess, a tract of some one 
hundred and fifty thousand acres, which, 
by patents royal, were erected into Liv- 
ingston manor in 1715. He died in 1728. 
The larger portion of his estate descended 
to his eldest surviving son, Philip, but to 
the second son, Robert, thirteen thousand 
acres, comprising the manor of Clermont, 
were bequeathed. 

The second, Robert, born in 1688, who 
was educated in Scotland, and married 
Margaret, daughter of a prominent Eng- 



lish merchant in New York and grand- 
daughter of Captain Bethlow, a Hugue- 
not after whom Bedloe's Island is named, 
was also a man of affairs. He was a 
member of the Colonial Assembly, con- 
spicuous for his sturdy opposition to the 
measures of the English government that 
trenched upon the liberties of the prov- 
ince. He lived until 1775, just as the 
minute guns of Lexington "fired the shots 
heard round the world," having impressed 
upon his children the thought of Amer- 
ican independence of the crown. His son, 
Robert R., Sr., the father of the subject 
of this sketch, was born in 1718, married, 
in 1742, Margaret, daughter of Henry 
Beekman, of Rhinebeck, was a distin- 
guished lawyer, eminent upon the bench 
and a staunch supporter of the cause of 
the colonies. In 1762 he was named as 
one of the Committee of Correspondence, 
claimed to be the first movement looking 
definitely toward a union of the colonies, 
and acted thereon until its dissolution in 
1768. He was a delegate in 1765 to the 
Stamp Act Congress, in which nine colo- 
nies were represented and the author of 
the petition to the king setting forth colo- 
nial grievances. He was appointed an 
associate judge of the Supreme Court, 
losing the position in 1769 because of his 
patriotic proclivities; and was five times 
elected to the provincial assembly from 
the manor of Livingston, but each time 
declared disqualified by reason of being 
on the bench. He died in the same year 
as his father. It may be noted, in pass- 
ing, that upwards of fifty names of Liv- 
ingstons, are recorded as in the service 
either of the Colony, State or Nation. 

Our Robert R., Jr., was born in the 
City of New York, November 27, 1746. 
In due time, he entered King's College, 
now Columbia University, and was grad- 
uated with the class of 1764, John Jay 
being a classmate. Both graduated with 
honor, the local press highly compliment- 



18 




ROBERT R. LIVINGSTON 



Chancellor of the State of New York, 1777-1801 : negotiated the Louisiana Pur- 
chase In 1803; Secretary of Foreign Affairs. 1781-3: U. 5. Minister to France. 1801-4; 
associated with Robert Fulton In furthering steamboat navigation; residence at Cler- 
mont. Columbia county. N. Y. Born at New York. Nov. 27. 1746; died Feb. 26, 1813. 
From the H. B. Hall engraving. 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ing Livingston's commencement oration 
on "Liberty." He married, September 9, 
1770, Alary, the daughter of John Stevens, 
of Hunterdon, New Jersey. He was ad- 
mitted to the bar in October, 1773, and be- 
gan practice in the city, with his class- 
mate, Jay, as partner, a connection which 
lasted but a few months. There is much 
about him as he stands on the threshold ot 
endeavor, at the age of twenty-seven, to 
win admiration and command success. He 
is a very engaging person — tall, of hand- 
some presence and patrician dignity, gain- 
ing in impressiveness as the years ad- 
vance and intellectuality stamps his fea- 
tures in clearer outlines. His statues in 
bronze, in both the State and national 
Capitols, express something of his majes- 
tic aspect. He is highly talented, of up- 
right morals, rich expectations and hered- 
itary prestige. Contemporary with him 
at the bar are Gouveneur Morris, Robert 
Troup, James Duane, and others of like 
caliber. By all accounts, he holds his 
own with these, justifying his selection 
as recorder of the city in 1774, which he 
held a single year. In 1775 he came into 
possession of "Clermont," but, engrossed 
in public business, left his mother in con- 
trol for a time. It was raided and burned 
to the ground by British soldiers in 1777, 
but was soon rebuilt, substantially, on 
the original plan. It still stands, in its 
noble proportions, the river lapping the 
sward at its base and the Catskills tower- 
ing above it in the near outlook. He does 
not seem to have engaged actively in his 
profession but a few years. He did not 
need to, so far as its emoluments were 
concerned. As politician and patriot he 
was at once enlisted in the civil service. 
He was a delegate to the Continental 
Congress in 1775, being re-elected for 
short periods in 1779 and 1780, this not 
then being inconsistent with, but subordi- 
nate to. his duties in the State. He was 
a member, from Dutchess, in the third 



Provincial Congress, and in the fourth, 
which resolved itself into the convention 
that ordained the hrst constitution of the 
State, in 1777, for the making of which 
Jay was chiefly responsible, but in which 
Livingston was also prominent in debate. 
He was one of the Committee of Safety, 
charged with administration pending the 
installation of the governor, and by it 
was appointed chancellor of the State 
court, being subsequently commissioned 
by the executive, in which exalted office 
he remained until iSoi. 

Meanwhile, he was a leading member 
of the second Continental Congress. He 
was on the committee to report a plan 
for the confederation of the colonies ; but 
his supreme distinction was as one of the 
committee of five, consisting of Thomas 
Jefferson, John Adams, Benjamin Frank- 
lin, Roger Sherman and himself — all im- 
mortal names — to frame the Declaration. 
It is not clear as to how much of thought 
either he, or his associates, contributed 
to that illustrious instrument, the chief 
authorship of which is accorded, justly, 
to Jefferson. To him undoubtedly be- 
long the felicity of phrase and apposite- 
ness of arrangement that distinguish it; 
but its ideas were the common heritage 
of the colonies, as represented in the Con- 
gress — of men versed in the common law 
and Roman precedents. Jefferson was, 
indeed, the peerless penman of the Revo- 
lution, but those who co-operated with 
him in thinking of what to say, if not how 
to say it, should not be wholly ignored in 
an appreciation of his masterpiece — and 
Livingston was one of these. Recalled to 
the Provincial Congress, at the moment 
when the delegates were affixing their 
signatures to the Declaration, he was de- 
prived of that privilege, as was John Jay 
also. 

It is to be regretted that the meager 
and imperfect reports of court opinions 
in his day now forbid a valid estimate of- 



19 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



those of Chancellor Livingston. Chan- 
cellor Kent, the greatest of New York 
jurists, but too apt to be swayed as a 
partisan in his judgment, placed his ban 
upon them, when he said that "While I 
was in that office, there was not a single 
decision, opinion or dictum of either of 
my two predecessors (Livingston and 
Lansing), from 1777 to 1814, cited to me 
or even suggested. I took the court as 
if it had been a new institution and never 
before known in the United States." Per 
contra. Chancellor Jones (1826-28) affirm- 
ed that "this august tribunal never boast- 
ed a more prompt, more able or more 
faithful officer than Chancellor Living- 
ston." "These decisions (equity) bear- 
ing on jurisprudence, and preserved in 
the records of the Council of Revision, 
indicate the same qualities that so dis- 
tinguished his career as a statesman and 
diplomat and surely convey to the ordi- 
nary mind the laudatory of Chancellor 
Jones." (Albany "Law Journal," volume 
xxiii, page 281). 

It is Chancellor Livingston's high 
desert to have his name associated inti- 
mately with one of the most imposing 
events that history emphasizes — simple, 
indeed, in its ceremonies, but grand in its 
import. By it, he probably has more of 
popular recognition than by any other 
act of his life. It is the accession of 
George Washington, first in peace as in 
war. as President of the Republic on April 
30, 1789, on the balcony of the City Hall, 
in New York: 

All eyes were fixed upon the balcony when, at 
the appointed hour, Washington made his ap- 
pearance, accompanied by various pubHc func- 
tionaries and members of the Senate and House 
of Representatives. He was clad in a full suit 
of dark brown cloth, of American manufacture, 
with a steel-hilted dress sword, white silk stock- 
ings and silver shoe-buckles. His hair was 
dressed and powdered in the fashion of the 
day and worn in a bag and solitaire. His 
entrance on the balcony was hailed by universal 



shouts. He was evidently moved by this demon- 
stration of public affection. Advancing to the 
front of the balcony, he laid his hand upon his 
heart, bowed several times and then retreated to 
an arm chair near the table. The populace ap- 
peared to understand that the scene had over- 
come him and were hushed at once into pro- 
found silence. After a few moments Washing- 
ton rose and again came forward. John Adams, 
the vice-president, stood on his right; and on 
his left, the Chancellor of the State, Robert R. 
Livingston; somewhat in the rear were Roger 
Sherman, Alexander Hamilton, Generals Knox, 
St. Clair, the Baron Steuben and others. The 
Chancellor advanced to administer the oath pre- 
scribed by the Constitution, and Mr. Otis, the 
Secretary of the Senate, held up the Bible on 
its crimson cushion. The oath was read slowly 
and distinctly, Washington at the same time 
laying his hand on the open Bible. When it 
was concluded, he replied solemnly, "I swear — 
so help me God!" Mr. Otis would have raised 
the Bible to his lips, but he bowed down rev- 
erently and kissed it. The Chancellor now step- 
ped forward, waved his hand and exclaimed, 
"Liiug live George Washington, President of 
tlie United States!" At this moment, a flag 
was displayed on the cupola of the hall, on 
which signal there was a general discharge of 
artillery on the Battery. All the bells of the 
city rang out a joyful peal and the multitude rent 
tlic air with acclamations. — Irving's "Washing- 
ton." 

From 1 78 1 until 1783, Livingston, lay- 
ing aside his ermine for the time, acted as 
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of 
the Confederacy — a period covering much 
of the negotiation of the treaty of Paris 
recognizing independence, in which 
I'Vanklin, Jay and John .\dams acted as 
commissioners. Livingston is credited 
with doing- more than any one in the 
home government in shaping the foreign 
policy of the country, "not the 'militia' 
system of unsophisticated impulse, but 
that which the law of nations had sanc- 
tioned as the best mode of conducting 
international affairs." (Wharton's "Dip- 
lomatic Correspondence," volume i. page 
569. ct scquitur). He firmly opposed send- 
ing ministers to European courts by 



20 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



whom such missions were not invited ; 
and considered the French alliance sacred ; 
disapproving the action of the commis- 
sioners in beginning negotiations with 
England, without consulting with France. 
Mis service was, in all respects, credit- 
able to him. In 1788 he was a delegate 
to the Poughkeepsie convention, ratify- 
ing the I'^ederal constitution, in which he 
was a good second to Hamilton, as he 
had been to Jay in the State convention 
of 1777. 

But the parting of the wax s between 
tliese two — one his lifelong personal 
friend and the other for ytars his political 
associate — came, practically coincident 
with the election of .A.dams to the Presi- 
dency, when he renounced his Federalist 
faith and became an aggressive Repub- 
lican, carrying with him the Livingston 
host — "horse, foot and dragoons." It is 
not worth while to pry closely into the 
motives that prompted this radical change 
in his party afliliations. It is asserted 
on the one hand, that the selection of 
Rufus King as United States Senator, in 
1789, whom he had strongly opposed, had 
long rankled in his heart, and that the 
refusal to promote the chancellor to the 
chief justiceship of the United States re- 
solved his disappointment into fierce re- 
sentment; and, on the otiier. that nation- 
ality, the principal Federalist objective. 
being accomplished he might honestly 
dissent from Hamilton's economic policies 
and sympathize with Jefferson's attach- 
ment to France. He had already earnest- 
ly oppugned the ratification of the Jay 
treaty in essays in the press, over the 
nom dc plume of "Cato." Roth considera- 
tions indicated may have been potent with 
him. Be these as they may, the Living- 
ston bolt proved ultimately as disastrous 
to the Federalists as that of Van Buren 
against Cass to the Democrats in 1848, or 
that of the "Mugwumps" against Blaine 
to the Republicans in 1884, although the 



first encounter was far from flattering to 
Livingston personally. He was received 
with open arms by the Clintonians, as the 
ruling element of the New York Repub- 
licans was then designated ; and by them 
was nominated for governor, in 1798, 
against Jay, whom the Federalists named 
to succeed himself. 

The contest was exciting and, at times, 
bitter : but Livingston was defeated, by a 
majorit}- of 2,380 in a total poll of 29,64+ 
votes. Two years later. Federalism met 
its staggering blow, from which it hast- 
ened to its end, in the election of Jeffer- 
son, the Livingston phalanx assisting 
materially in that result in New York, 
then as often thereafter, the pivotal state. 
In the Republican congressional caucus, 
the names of Livingston, George Clinton 
and Aaron Burr were canvassed for the 
vice-presidency; but Livingston's deaf- 
ness was regarded as an insuperable 
objection to his fitness as a presiding 
ofificer, and Burr was preferred. Before 
the election, candidate Jefferson promised 
Livingston the navy bureau, which he 
declined, but when President Jefferson 
offered him the mission to France, which 
he had refused from Washington, he ac- 
cepted it, remaining therein until 1804, 
with a most honorable record. In that 
mission, he doubtless rendered the coun- 
try his most important service in per- 
fecting the acqtxisition of Louisiana from 
Napoleon, himself justly impressed with 
its significance, so esteeming it pardon- 
ably, as Seward, to draw another parallel, 
so regarded the purchase of Alaska. 

Another, and the last of Livingston's 
achievements arose from his co-operation 
with Robert Fulton in the development 
of steam navigation. The term is used 
advisedly. .Although Fulton is credited 
with the discovery, which has dotted the 
seas with the white wings and funnels of 
commerce, it is doubtful that he would 
have realized his design, without the .'lid 



2t 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of Livingston who had himself experi- 
mented extensively in the same line, with 
favoring omens. The two enthusiasts 
meeting in Paris, the enterprise was pro- 
jected jointly, the Seine being the scene 
of their tests. The pioneer vessel was 
built in New York by Fulton's direction 
with Livingston's funds and named after 
the latter's manor. It was a proud day 
for him when he saw the "Clermont" sail 
by his demesne up the Hudson. He ob- 
tained various grants for exclusive rights 
of plying the waters of the State, and the 
venture was profitable in the ihiancial, 
as it is lustrous in the scientific, view. 
In 1811, Robert R. Livmgston and Robert 
Fulton were added to the Commission 
directed to consider all subjects relating 
to canals and authorized to adopt all 
measures deemed expedient for promot- 
ing their introduction and improvement — 
most fitting appointments. For the rest, 
Livingston's last decade was passed in 
refined, scholarly and luxurious retire- 
ment, supplementing his strenuous an.d 
serviceable career. He died at Clermont, 
February 26, 1813. He left no heirs male, 
but two daughters, Elizabeth Stevens, 
who was married to Edward Philip Liv- 
ingston, state senator, lieutenant-gov- 
ernor, etc ; and Margaret Maria, the wife 
of Robert L. Livingston. A wealth of 
information concerning the Livingstons 
will be found in "The Livingstons of 
Livingston Manor" by Edwin P.rock- 
holst Livingston ; 275 copies only printed 
by private subscription. The Knicker- 
bocker Press, New York, 1910. 



EARD, Samuel, 

Distinguished Early-Day Physician. 

Dr. Samuel Hard, an intimate personal 
friend and professional associate of Dr. 
David Hosack. was born in Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania, April i, 1742. He sailed 
for Edinburgh, Scotland, to study medi- 



cine, but on the voyage was captured by 
the French, in September, 1761, and owed 
his release five months later to Dr. Ben- 
jamin Franklin, who was then a resident 
of London. 

After studying in Scotland and Eng- 
land, he returned home in 1767. He then, 
in connection with his father, entered 
upon the active practice of his profession 
in New York, organized a medical school 
which was united to King's College, and 
in that institution took the chair of physic 
in 1769, subsequently becoming dean of 
the faculty. In 1772 he purchased his 
father's establishment and business, and 
in 1795 took Dr. David Flosack into part- 
nership with him. In 1774 he gave a 
course of clinical lectures; in 1791 was 
instrumental in causing the establishment 
of a public hospital, of which he was ap- 
pointed visiting physician ; and in 1813 
was appointed president of the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons. While the 
seat of government was in New York 
City, he was Washington's family physi- 
cian. In 1798 he retired to his country 
seat in New Jersey, but on the approach 
of the yellow fever pestilence, he returned 
to New York and exerted himself un- 
selfishly to combatting the dread disease. 
However, he was himself prostrated by 
it, but under the careful nursing of his 
wife, soon recovered. He was an accom- 
])lished horticulturist, and a patient and 
devoted student of nature, and while 
studying for his profession in Edinburgh, 
was awarded the annual medal given by 
Professor Hope for the finest collection 
of plants. Besides many addresses and 
discourses, he published : "The Shepherd's 
Guide;" "De Viribus Opii," 1765; "On 
Anguia Suflfocativa," in volume one of 
"American Philosophical Transactions;" 
and "Compendium of Midwifery," in 1807. 
His "Life," published by John Mc"Vicar 
in 1822. contains much matter of a val- 
uable and interesting nature. His degree 



22 




'^^■'Z--7P-z:^'Z-^ 




EXCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of Doctor of Medicine was obtained at 
the University of Edinburgh in 1765 ; that 
of Doctor of Laws was conferred on him 
by the College of New Jersey in 1815. 

In 1770 he married a cousin, Mary 
Bard. He died in New Jersey, May 24, 
1821. 



GANSEVOORT, General Peter, 

Revolutionary Soldier. 

The original ancestors of the Ganse- 
voort families of the Hudson and Mo- 
hawk Valleys in New York state lived 
in a town called Ganzfort, which was situ- 
ated on the borders of Germany and Hol- 
land. Wesselius Gansefortius, otherwise 
known in his own day as Wessel Ganse- 
voort and also as John Wessel Ganse- 
voort, was born at Groningen, Holland, in 
the year 1419, in a house standing in the 
Heerestraat, near the Caroliweg, and 
which can be recognized by the family 
arms which remain to this day in the 
front stone. The arms themselves appear 
to present an emblem of agriculture and 
commerce, from which it may be assum- 
ed that the Gansevoorts of early times 
were engaged in those avocations. And 
besides the family name of Gansevoort 
(doubtless derived from the village of 
Ganzfort, in Westfalen), he bore in later 
times among men of eminent learning the 
name of Basilius, and the title of Lux 
Mtindi (light of the world), and also the 
name of Magister Contradictionis (Master 
of Contradictions or Debates). For this 
latter title he is probably indebted to his 
continued attacks against the errors and 
abuses of the church. He also has been re- 
ferred to and mentioned as the forerunner 
of Luther, and he favored the school of 
absolute nominalism in philosophy. He 
was a leader in the pre-Reformation 
movement in Holland, and ranked among 
the most learned men of his time ; was an 
intimate friend in earlv life of Thomas a 



Kempis, studied at several of the great 
schools of Europe, and was offered and 
declined a professorship at Heidelberg. 
At Paris he was the instructor of two 
men who afterward achieved wide fame, 
Reuchlin and Agricola, and subsequently 
he visited in Rome when Sixtus IV. was 
Pope. He had been on terms of intimacy 
with Sixtus when the latter was superior- 
general of the Franciscans. It is related 
that he was asked by Sixtus what favor 
he could do for him, and in answer Wes- 
sel asked for a Greek and Flebrew Bible 
from the Vatican library. "You shall 
have it," said the Pope, "but what a sim- 
pleton you are; why did you not ask for a 
bishopric or something of that kind?" 
"Because I do not want it," replied Wes- 
sel, a reply truly characteristic of his high 
tone and independent spirit. On religious 
subjects his views were broad and deep, 
and he promulgated with boldness the 
doctrines of the Reformation forty years 
in advance of Luther, who held his char- 
acter and attainments in high esteem and 
who published an edition of part of his 
works. His name, still retained by the 
family in this country, is reverenced in 
Groningen, his native city, where in 1862 
an ancient tablet to his memory was re- 
stored by the authorities of the city and 
placed in the large church with demon- 
strations of public regard. 

The. Hon. Harmanus Bleecker. when 
minister to The Hague, stated that there 
was no doubt of the descent of the family 
from this philosopher, and papers in pos- 
session of the family of the late Judge 
Peter Gansevoort, of Albany, show the fact 
more clearly. In i860 his tomt) at Gron- 
ingen was visited by Judge Gansevoort 
and his son, and a few days previous to 
their arrival the remains had been dis- 
interred and were lying in the cloister of 
the Holy Virgins, to which place they 
had been removed from the chapel of the 
lTni\'orsitv to make room for modern im- 



23 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



provements. His tomb also had been 
removed and was lying in pieces ready to 
be reerected. It was of the medieval 
style and surmounted by a bust of Wes- 
sel, such as was usually placed over 
tombs of that description. The bust was 
of marble, but, like that of Shakespeare at 
Stratford, it had been painted in different 
colors. It showed him to be a man of 
intellect and benevolence, and the inscrip- 
tion on the tomb was elaborate and mag- 
niloquent. The bones of the body were 



Harme Van Ganzvort (he so wrote 
his name in all of his business and family 
transactions so long as he lived) came to 
America and settled at Catskill, on the 
Hudson river, in 1660. There he had an 
extensive manor, doubtless acquired from 
the Indians, but afterward his lands were 
granted to others. It is related by one 
chronicler of the family history that 
Harmc lived for some time at Catskill, 
on an estate more recently owned by the 
Van X'echtcn family, and that he was un- 



iii perfect preservation and were regarded 

by those in charge with great reverence, J^^'ly deprived of his property by one of 

and they were reinterred with ceremony, the Dutch governors who went by water 



It is a somewhat singular fact that at the 
time of the arrival there of Judge ( jaiise- 
voort and his son, the house of their an- 
cestor W'essel (iansevoort was being de- 
molished to make room for a more mod- 
ern building. It contained above the 
front door a marble slab on which was 
carved the same coat-of-arms as that 
borne by the family in America, viz. : 
four quarters, a ship and wagon. 

Wesselius Gansefortius died October 
9, 1489. It is said that during his last 



from New Amsterdam to Albany and on 
his passage up the river anchored his ves- 
sel opposite Catskill creek. There the 
governor went ashore with his secretary 
or aide, walked up to the Ganzvort dwell- 
ing, and was hospitably entertained by 
the proprietor. The secretary expressed 
his admiration of the estate, solicited a 
grant of it from the governor, and secured 
it. In consequence of this. Harme Van 
Ganzvort, who had no other title to the 
land than that of possession and the con- 



sickness he complained that through var- sent of the Indian owners, was compelled 

ious considerations and reflections he felt to leave and locate elsewhere. From 

his belief in the great truths of the Chris- Catskill he removed with his family to 

tian religion shaken, but not long before Albany, where, having been brought up 

his death he was heard to exclaim with to the trade of a brewer, he set up in that 

great thankfulness. "I thank God, all business and continued it so long as he 

these vain thoughts have srone, and I lived. His home and brew house were at 



know nothing but Christ and Him cruci- 
fied." Such then are something of the 
qualities and characteristics of the great 
scholar and jihilosopher, who. witliout 
doubt, is the remote ancestor of the fam- 



the corner of Market street and Maiden 
Lane. This property has been kept in 
the family and on the site now stands 
Stanwix Hall. 

Harme \'an Gansevoort (or Van Ganz- 



ily of the Gansevoort surname purposed vort) died July 23, 1710. He was a man 



to be treated in these annals. It is not 
known in what year the first Gansevoort 
emigrated to the Low Country of Hol- 
land, but it is known that the first of the 
surname on this side of the Atlantic 



of character and ability, a member of the 
Lutheran church. Of his means he gave 
to the society of that church a lot of land 
on which to erect a house of worship, and 
beneath the pulpit in the church his re- 



Ocean appeared in New Netherlands in mains were buried. The lot is on South 
the year 1660. Pearl street, where the market house was 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



built in later years. His wife was Mar- 
ritje Liendarts, who died in 1742. 

Leonard Gansevoort (Liendart Van 
Ganzvort), son of Harme and Marritje 
(Liendarts) Van Ganzvort, was born in 
Albany, in 16S1, and died there Novem- 
ber 30, 1763. He succeeded his father in 
the ownership of the brewery and its 
business, and continued it as his prin 
cipal occupation. He is remembered as 
a man of small stature, of placid and 
serene countenance, and of upright char- 
acter. He married, in 1712, Catherine De 
Wandelaer, who survived him, and it was 
in a large measure through her strong 
character and superior business ability 
that her husband was enabled to accu- 
mulate a comfortable fortune. One of 
her descendants writing of her said that 
"her activity of mind made her quite a 
business woman and rendered her a great 
Messing to her husband, who was a quiet 
moderate man." 

Harme, son of Leonard and Catherine 
(De Wandelaer) Gansevoort, was born 
in Albany, and baptized there April 20, 
1712, and died there May 7, 1801. He was 
a merchant in Albany and carried on an 
extensive business, importing his goods 
from Europe. He inherited from his 
father the brewery property and contin- 
ued it in connection with his other busi- 
ness interests. He also appears to have 
been somewhat engaged in public affairs, 
and it is evident that he was a man of 
excellent understanding and business 
capacity. From September 25, 1730, to 
1760, he was clerk of the county court 
and of the court of common pleas, clerk 
of the peace and of the sessions. In 1763 
he purchased and caused to be brought 
over from England what probably was 
the second hand fire engine ever used in 
Albany, paying therefor the sum of 
$,197-50- He married. May 29, 1740, Mag- 
dalena Douw, born .August i, 1718, died 
October 12. 1796, daughter of Pctrus and 



Anna (\'an Rensselaer) Douw. Petrus 
(sometimes written Pieter) Douw, was 
born March 24, 1692, died August 21, 
1775, son of Jonas Volkertse Douw of 
Manor Rensselaerwyck, who married 
(first) November 14, 1683, Magdalena 
Fieterse Ouackenboss, and married (sec- 
ond) April 24, 1696, Catrina Van Wit- 
beck, widow of Jacob Sanderse Glen. 
Jonas Volkertse Douw was the eldest 
son of Captain Volkert Janse Douw. who 
came from Frederickstadt and was in 
Beverwyck as early as 1638. He died in 
1686. He had his house on the west 
c orner of State street and Broadway, 
which property is now owned by his de- 
scendants. He was a trader and brewer, 
and in connection with Jan Thomase he 
dealt quite largely in real estate. Their 
brewery was located on the east half of 
the Exchange block lot and extended to 
the river. This they sold in 1675 to Har- 
men Rutgers, son of Rutger Jacobsen. In 
1663 they bought of the Indians, Schotack 
or Apjen's (Little Monkey's) island and 
the main land lying east of it. Captain 
Douw also owned Constapel's island, ly- 
ing opposite Bethlehem, half of which he 
sold in 1677 to Pieter Winne. In 1672 he 
owned Schutter's island, below Beeren 
island, which he sold to Barent Pieterse 
Coeymans. He married, April 19, 1650, 
Dorotee Janse, from Breestede, Holland. 
She was a sister of Rutger Jacobsen's 
wife, and died November 2, 1681. He died 
in 16S6. Anna Van Rensselaer, wife of 
Petrus Douw, was born January 4, 1719. 
daughter of Killian and Maria (Van Cort- 
landt) Van Rensselaer, granddaughter of 
Jeremias and Maria (Van Cortlandt) 
Van Rensselaer, and great-granddaughter 
of Killian Van Rensselaer, merchant of 
Amsterdam, Holland, who married (first) 
TTillegonda Van Bvlet and (second") 
.Anna Wely. Killian Van Rensselaer, son 
of Jeremias, was the first lord of the 
IMaiKir of Rensselaerwvck. 



25 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAl'llV 



General Peter Gansevoort Jr., son of 
Hartne and Magdalena (Douw) Ganse- 
voort, was born in Albany, in 1749, where 
Stanwix Hall now stands, and died in his 
native city, July 2, 1812, at the age of 
sixty-three years. On July 2, 1775, he 
was appointed by Congress a major in the 
Second New York Regiment. In August 
of that year he joined the army which 
invaded Canada under Montgomery. In 
March, 1776, he was made lieutenant- 
colonel, and on November 21 following 
became colonel of the regiment. In July, 
1776, he was colonel commanding at Fort 
George, on Lake George. In April, 1777, 
he took command of Fort Stanwix (after- 
ward called Fort Schuyler), on the pres- 
ent site of the city of Rome, and made a 
gallant defence of the post against the 
British under St. Leger, which was the 
first blow to their great scheme to sever 
New York from the residue of the con- 
federacy, and by thus preventing the co- 
operation of that officer with Burgoyne. 
contributed most essentially to the great 
and decisive victory at Saratoga. For 
this gallant defence the thanks of Con- 
gress were voted to Colonel Gansevoort. 
In the spring of 1779 Colonel Gansevoort 
was ordered to join General Sullivan in 
an expedition against the Indians in the 
western part of New York. At the head 
of a chosen party from the army he dis- 
tinguished himself by surprising, by the 
celerity of his movements, the lower Mo- 
hawk castle, and cajjturing all the Indian 
inhabitants of the vicinity. In 1781 the 
state of New York appointed him briga- 
dier-general, and afterwards he filled a 
number of important offices, among 
which was that of commissioner of Indian 
affairs and for fortifying the frontiers. 
He also was military agent and a briga- 
dier-general in the United States army in 
1809, sherifiF of Albany county from 1790 
to 1792, a regent of the University of the 
State of New York from 1808 until the 



time of his death, and one of the first 
board of directors of the New York .State 
Bank in 1803. 

The foregoing account is hardly more 
than a very brief outline of the career of 
one of the bravest and most determined 
soldiers and patriots of the Revolution, an 
officer whose courage never was doubted, 
whose achievements as a commanding 
officer were fully appreciated, but whose 
splendid service never was more than half 
rewarded. .\nd it has remained for one 
of his descendants, a granddaughter, to 
cause to be erected an appropriate memo- 
rial of his noble record and unselfish 
patriotism ; and all honor is due Mrs. 
Catherine Gansevoort Lansing for the gift 
which marks the place of old Fort Stan- 
wix — "a fort which never surrendered," 
and the fort from which the first Ameri- 
can flag was unfurled in the face of the 
enemy. The "General Peter Gansevoort 
Statue," in bronze, stands in the circle in 
the East Park, Rome, New York, facing 
the west. The figure is in full uniform, 
heroic in size, seven feet two inches tall, 
standing at ease in military position, the 
left foot slightly forward. In the right 
hand is held the letter of St. Leger de- 
manding the surrender of the fort, while 
the left hand rests on the hilt of the 
sword. The pedestal weighs nearly three 
tons and stands on a base weighing twen- 
ty tons, and the whole rests on a solid 
concrete foundation nearly four feet 
thick. On the outer edge of the flag walk 
around the monument is a stone coping 
of Barre granite, rock finish, the same 
material on which the statue rests, the 
coping being a foot wide and a foot 
thick. On the front tablet of the monu- 
ment appears this inscription : 

Brigadier-General Peter Gansevoort, Jr., Colo- 
nel in the Continental Army. He served under 
Montgomery in Canada in the campaign against 
Quebec in 1775, and in 1777 he successfully de- 
fended Fort Stanwix against the British forces 



26 







^ou 



ne'H^ietcic ^f torrid 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and their Indian allies under St. Leger, thus 
preventing their junction with Burgoyne at Sar- 
atoga. He took part in the campaign of 1779 
under General Sullivan. He was in active com- 
mand at the outbreak of the War of 1812, and 
died on the second day of July of that year at 
the age of 63. 

On the rear tablet this inscription ap- 
pears : 

Erected near the site of 

FORT STANWIX 

at the request of Peter Gansevoort, 

Henry S. Gansevoort, U. S. A., 

And Abraham Lansing, all of 

Albany, N. Y. 

Presented to the City of Rome by 

Catherine Gansevoort 

Lansing. 

A. D. 1906. 

General Gansevoort married, January 12, 
1778, Catherine (Catrina) Van Schaick, 
baptized August 16, 1752, died Decem- 
ber 30, 1830, daughter of Wessel Van 
Schaick, who was baptized February 
ID, 1712, and married, November 3, 1743, 
Maria Gerritse, who died January 31, 
1797. Wessel Van Schaick was son of 
Anthony (or Antony) Van Schaick, Sy- 
brant, filius, glazier, born 1681, married, 
October 19, 1707, Anna Catherine Ten 
Broeck, who died in December, 1756. 
In 1704 Anthony Van Schaick's house lot 
was at the south corner of State and 
Pearl streets, Albany. He was a son of 
Sybrant Van Schaick, born 1653, who 
married Elizabeth Van Der Poel, and 
died about 1705. In 1678 his step-mother 
agreed to sell him her half of the brew- 
ery on the easterly half of the Exchange 
block for one hundred beavers. He was 
a son of Captain Goosen Gerritse Van 
Schaick, brewer of Albany. In 1664 he 
and Philip Pieterse Schuyler were grant- 
ed permission to purchase Halve Maan 
of the Indians, to prevent "those of Con- 
necticut" from purchasing it. In 1664 
■also he bought of his stepfather, Ryner 



Elbertse, a lot on the north corner of 
Columbia street and Broadway, and in 
1675 he and Pieter Lassingh bought 
Harmne (or Harmej Rutger's brewery 
on the Exchange block. "In 1657, being 
about to marry his second wife, he made 
a contract in which he reserved from his 
estate 6,000 guilders for his four eldest 
children by the first wife, that being her 
separate estate; and in 1668 he and his 
second wife made a joint will, he being 
about to depart for Holland." Captain 
Van Schaick married (first) in 1649, 
Geertie Brantse Van Nieuwkerk, who 
died about 1656; married (second), 1657, 
Annatie Lievens, or Lievense. 

General Gansevoort's children: i. Her- 
man, born 1779, died 1862; married, in 
1813, Catherine Quackenboss, born 1774, 
died 1855. 2. Wessel, born 1781, died 
1862. 3. Leonard, born 1783, died 1821 ; 
married, 1809, Mary A. Chandonette, 
born 1789, died 1851. 4. Peter, born 1786, 
died 1788. 5. Peter, born December 22, 
1788. 6. Maria, born 1791, married, 1814, 
Allan Melville, born 1782, died 1832. 



MORRIS, Gouverneur, 

Wit, Statesman, Diplomat. 

It is, in some respects, a strange, but, 
ii'. all respects, a beneficent, circumstance 
that the landed gentry of the Hudson, 
with their proprietary grants, their state- 
ly manor-houses, their broad acres, over 
which they held almost feudal suzerainty, 
their retinues of slaves and their high- 
bred caste, should, in the main, have cast 
their lots with the Revolution. 

Into this aristocratic-patriotic environ- 
ment- Gouverneur, the son of Lewis Jr., 
destined to be one of the finest gentlemen, 
brightest statesmen and accomplished dip- 
lomats of his day, was ushered, on Janu- 
ary 31, 1752. He was of excellent stock 
on both sides. His great-grandfather, an 
officer in the Cromwellian army, obtain- 



27 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ed a manorial grant near Harlem, and 
laid the foundations of the family for- 
tunes. His grandfather, Lewis, played a 
leading part in provincial affairs, was a 
member of the Assembly, defending it in 
its conflicts with the English governors, 
and was chief justice of the Supreme 
Court from 1715 until 1733. His father, 
with like patriotic inclination, sat in the 
Assembly and upon the bench. His 
mother was of French Huguenot lineage, 
and to that blend are to be referred the 
vivacity and exquisite humor that scintil- 
lated his life and the impulsiveness of 
thought that sometimes misled him in 
action. 

He was, from the lirst, active in sports 
and quick at books. At a school in New 
Rochelle, he learned to speak French 
nearly as fluently as his mother tongue. 
His training for college was probably had 
in New York where there was, at least, 
one tolerably good high school ; and he 
was graduated from King's College, in 
1768, too soon for him fully to appreciate 
the worth of a rounded education ; but he 
showed a decided taste for mathematics, 
a decent acquaintance with the classics 
and excelled in student debates. Immedi- 
ately upon graduation, he began the study 
of the law and pursued it diligently, con- 
scious of his aptitude, having found his 
specialty and a means of livelihood ; for, 
as a cadet of his family, his income was 
slender. He was licensed to practice in 
1771, "just three years after another 
young man destined to stand as his equal 
in the list of New York's four or five 
noted statesmen. John Jay, had likewise 
been admitted to the bar; and among the 
cases in which Morris was engaged, of 
which the record has been kept, is one 
concerning a contested election, in which 
he was pitted against Jay and bore him- 
self well." (Roosevelt page 23). His 
practice was a paying one, even before 
he attained his majority, his family con- 



nections, his professional knowledge and 
dexterity of speech combining to thai 
end. Another role which he essayed was 
that of the society man in which he was, 
in after years, to act with shining success 
in the salons of Paris and the palaces 
of Europe. His personality was very 
attractive. He was tall, graceful, hand- 
some, with rare conversational gifts, 
sparkling with wit and satire and ready 
repartee, a raconteur and bon vivnnt, fond 
of the pleasures of the table and the field, 
a noted "diner-out" and an expert horse- 
man, with badinage and devoir for the 
fair sex. He describes himself at the time 
as "working hard but gay enough also; 
up all night — balls, concerts, assemblies 
— all of us mad in the pursuit of pleasure." 
It is to be added that his pleasures never 
degenerated into uncomely e.xces.ses. 

In the midst of his labors and joys, 
he heard the call of the country. With 
the ardor of youth, but already equipped 
for statesmanship, he responded, hoping 
for an accommodation with the crown, 
but, that failing, he soon became militant 
for revolution. Thenceforth, he was en- 
gaged almost exclusively in public affairs. 
He was chosen a deputy from Westches- 
ter to the first, third and fourth Provin- 
cial Congresses and, throughout, was one 
of the ablest and most useful members, 
both for his business sagacity and forensic 
art. He served sedulously upon the 
principal committees. His report memo- 
rializing the Continental Congress to issue 
paper money, redeemable proportionately 
by the respective provinces, aided by his 
luminous explanation, was adopted and 
gave him repute, second only to that of 
Robert Morris, as a financier. His 
mathematical planting bore fruit. Of his 
speeches that have been preserved, the 
one in favor of adopting the recommenda- 
tion of the Continental Congress that the 
colonies should institute state govern- 
ments, is memorable for its penetration. 



28 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAl'liY 



exhaustiveness, logical order and chas- 
tity of style. When the fourth Congress 
resolved itself into '"The Convention of 
the Representatives of the State of New 
York," for the purpose of framing a con- 
stitution, Jay, Livingston and Morris 
were entrusted with the plan thereof, in 
which Morris, always an earnest anti- 
slavery man, strove, in vain, to have a 
clause inserted abolishing slavery. He 
was chairman of the committee to devise 
ways and means for the establishment 
of a State fund — indeed "the whole 
thing" ; and was named as one of the 
"Council of Safety," charged with admin- 
istering the government pending the elec- 
tion of the governor and legislature. 

He entered the Continental Congress, 
in January, 1778; and, in that notably in- 
efficient body, was exceptionally efficient. 
He was on the committee of five mem- 
bers to visit Valley Forge and inquire into 
the condition of the troops, aiding in their 
feeding and clothing, in the winter of 
distress and disaster, and there gaining 
the trust and lasting friendship of Wash- 
ington, seconding him in thwarting the 
caprices of Congress, the cabal of Conway 
and the treason of Charles Lee; and also 
becoming intimate with Greene, whom he 
greatly admired and, later, with Schuyler 
whom he warmly defended against the 
machinations of Gates. In the Congress, 
he devoted himself chiefly to financial 
concerns and foreign relations. He was 
not reappointed — delegates being then 
designated annually by state legislatures 
— owing to the charge preferred against 
him that he had been lukewarm to the 
claims of New York in its controversy 
with Vermont over the boundary line and 
had paid too much attention to national 
and too little to state matters. "Many 
an able and upright Congressman," as 
Roosevelt naively observes, "since Morris 
has been sacrificed, because his constitu- 
ents found he was fitted to do the exact 



work needed ; because he showed himself 
capable of serving the whole nation and 
did not devote his time to advancing the 
mterests of only a portion thereof." 

Morris thus, in 1779, retired temporar- 
ily to private life, made his abode in 
Philadelphia, opened a law office there 
and was cordially welcomed to and not- 
ably graced its social life, then the most 
genteel of any in the land, in which his 
wit and humor and subtle sarcasm had 
play. But he still interested himself in 
public affairs. In a series of pamphlets 
upon the forlorn and tangled finances, 
dealing with elementary principles and 
scorning severely the attempts to regu- 
late prices by law, he submitted remedial 
measures, outlining, among other things, 
a practicable scheme of taxation. These 
attracted wide attention and particularly 
the notice of Robert Morris, then at the 
head of the Continental department of 
finance, who appointed him assistant 
financier, a place he retained until 1785. 
As such he did much valuable work, aid- 
ing his chief in all possible ways, promot- 
ing the establishment of the Mank of 
North .\merica — a bulwark of the public 
credit — preparing the report on coinage, 
with decimal notation as a basis, which 
with certain modifications and simplifica- 
tions, approved by Jefferson, was adopted 
and still obtains. Early in his Philadel- 
phia residence, he met with a serious acci- 
dent, which crippled him for life. In a 
runaway of his spirited horses, he was 
thrown from his phaeton and his leg was 
broken. It was amputated and replaced 
with a wooden one. He bore the loss 
with his accustomed philosophy and it 
appears never to have disturbed his 
serenity or embarrassed his social promi- 
nence or enjoyment. At a critical moment 
years thereafter, when he was minister 
to France, it is said, indeed to have 
served him, with his ready wit, in good 
stead. "In the stormy time in Paris, 



29 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



when terror ruled and not even a foreign 
minister was safe, his chariot was one day 
stopped by an angry mob and immediate 
violence was threatened. Morris thrust 
out his wooden leg and cried — "I am an 
American. See what I have suffered in 
the war for liberty and independence." 
The mob was converted by such ocular 
demonstration of patriotic suffering and 
drew their victim home in triumph in- 
stead of hanging him to a lamp post." 
(Henry Cabot Lodge in "Atlantic Month- 
ly," April, 1886). 

In 1787, he was sent by Pennsylvania 
to the National Constitutional Conven- 
tion, in which every delegate was a great 
or near-great man, and therein he easily 
went to the front. Madison records him 
as speaking more frequently, if not more 
convincingly, than any other delegate. He 
always, however, spoke earnestly, per- 
spicuously and informingly. Differing as 
to details with Hamilton, they were in 
accord in advocating the strongest kind 
of centralized government — an aristo- 
cratic republic ; the Utopia of the extreme 
Federalists. Some of his notions seem 
now to be fantastic. He believed that the 
president should hold his tenure during 
good behavior: that senators should be 
appointed for life, by the executive, their 
number to be apportioned according to 
property, as well as population ; that the 
West should be subordinated to the 
East in national control ; and that the 
suflfrage should be confined to freehold- 
ers. He abhored states rights. To his 
exceeding honor he was opposed to any 
countenance of slavery. He favored, 
however, most of the articles as conclud- 
ed and acquiesced in all ; and it was to his 
correct and facile pen that the revision 
of the instrument was committed. Like 
Hamilton, he was an opportunist, justify- 
ing the estimate of Madison that "to the 
brilliancy of his genius, he added what is 
too rare, a candid surrender of his opin- 



ions, when the light of discussion satis- 
fied them that they had been too hastily 
formed and a readiness to aid in making 
the best of measures in which he had been 
overruled." He labored heartily for rati- 
fication ; and Hamilton asked him to con- 
tribute to the "Federalist" — an invitation 
that, for some reason, he could not com- 
ply with. 

The proceedings of the convention end- 
ed. Morris resumed his residence in New 
York and, having been connected in var- 
ious successful enterprises with his friend 
and namesake, Robert — by the way not a 
relative — had become comparatively a 
rich man. He was building his fortune 
as well as his fame. He bought the an- 
cestral estate, at Morrisania, from his 
elder brother, Staats Long, who (a mark- 
ed exception to the family patriotism) 
had clung to the crown, was a major- 
general in the British army and had mar- 
ried a duchess. But Gouverneur had 
hardly recorded his title deeds, when busi- 
ness led him to Europe, where he remain- 
ed for a decade, traveling much, but, for 
the most part, domiciled in Paris. His 
standing at home and the friendships he 
had acquired with La Fayette and others 
gave him immediate entrance into the 
highest political and social circles, to be 
consulted by the one and caressed by the 
other. No American was ever so honor- 
ed and feted in the gay city as was he 
unless Franklin be excepted : and Frank- 
lin had an ofiicial mission, as well as his 
jicrsonal wisdom, to back him. Morris, 
at the first, was simply a private indi- 
vidual on business and pleasure bent. 
He kept a diary of the tragic and event- 
ful period through which he passed, per- 
haps the most valuable, as it is the 
most entertaining, sketch of its incidents. 
Paine, in his great work on the French 
revolution names Morris as its most com- 
petent observer. The diary is remarkable 
for its keen, yet generous criticisms and 



30 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



philosophic reflections and really mar- 
vellous diagnosis of men and motives and 
the accuracy of its predictions — specifi- 
cally, that the rule of the despot must 
succeed the rule of the anarch all in the 
clear style, with the delicate humor 
threading it, to which reference has pre- 
viously been made as inherent in all his 
writing's. 

Early in 1792, Morris was commis- 
sioned as minister to France, his confir- 
mation being secured by a meager major- 
ity, opposed by the zealots for the French 
revolution alleging that he had been 
actively hostile thereto, but pressed by 
Rufus King and other Federalist senators 
and by Washington who nominated him. 
"But the president, as good and wise a 
friend as Morris had, thought it best to 
send him a word of warning, coupling 
with the statement of his unfaltering 
trust and regard, the reasons why the new 
diplomat should observe more circum- 
spection than his enemies thought him 
capable of showing; for his opponents 
asserted that his brilliant, lively imagi- 
nation always inclined him to act so 
promptly as to leave him no time for cool 
judgment." (Roosevelt, page 252). it is 
impossible to describe in fitting terms, 
the conduct of the minister during the 
tumultuous time — the admiration and af- 
fection that it elicits, even at this distance. 
Tempering his courage with the caution 
that Washington bespoke, yet sometimes 
exceeding his functions at the behest 
of his compassion, he was the only 
foreign minister who staid, undismayed. 
at his post. Firm in insisting upon re- 
spect for his flag and that the ravages of 
French privateers upon American mer- 
chandise should cease, yet also seeing that 
Atnerican obligations to France, pecu- 
niary or otherwise, should be scrupulously 
discharged ; assisting the flight of I'"rench 
officers who had served in the American 
Revolution, but unwilling to engage in 



that at home ; constraining the regard, 
if not always the liking of the change- 
ing powers from Louis to Robespierre ; 
planning the escape of the King, which 
tailed of accomplishment only through 
his own vacillation ; befriending La Fay- 
ette and his family ; lending large sums to 
the Duke of Orleans, afterward King 
Louis Philippe ; his purse open to all dis- 
tress ; protecting American citizens in 
difficulties that befell them ; his house a 
refuge for high-born men and women 
hunted by the mob : grieving for others 
carried in tumbrils to the guillotine ; not 
knowing but that, at any moment, himself 
might be slain ; he fulfilled his mission 
with singular dignity and tact, with un- 
matched helpfulness, honor and heroism 
— an ensamplc for the ministrations of 
Washburn in the second commune and 
of Herrick amid the fears of (lerman on- 
slaught. The United States having re- 
quested, in 1794, the withdrawal of Genet, 
the I'rench government in turn asked for 
that of Morris ; and he was recalled. 

His private aft'airs, however, required 
his stay abroad, prolonged to four years. 
They were busy years of mucli travel- 
ing, visiting and ovation, of intercourse 
with savants and litterateurs, with bank- 
ers, with statesmen, with diplomats and 
monarchs, with all that was best in the 
old world. In October, 1798, he re- 
turned home, and, in 1800, was elected 
to the United States Senate. In polit- 
ical matters, he acted with Hamilton. 
In the Senate, he took high rank as a 
debater, of course; and exhibited consid- 
erable independence of party traces, espe- 
cially in his advocacy of the Louisiana 
jiurchase, opposed by the bulk of the 
Federalists. This was a case in which 
each party reversed its own principles 
of constitutional interpretation. Morris's 
short term expired ^larch .4., 1803, and. 
as the state was in the hands of the Re- 
publicans, he was not re-elected. In his 



31 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



retirement, he is credited with initiating 
ihe building of the Erie Canal, the sug- 
gestion of which he advanced so early as 
1803. In 1810, he was appointed chair- 
man of the Canal Commission and its 
first reports were by him. He made a 
lamentable mistake — to use no harsher 
term, in allowing his hostility to the war 
of 1812 and to the national administra- 
tion to betray him into temporary dis- 
loyalty to the nation he had been so in- 
strumental in creating and fostering. 
Gouverneur Morris as a pronounced 
States Right man is a sad spectacle. He 
was of that small band of Federalists 
who, in denial of their creed threatened 
the withdrawal of New England and con- 
tiguous states from the Union. This is 
the "blot on his escutcheon" — the shadow 
cast upon the luster of his career. It is 
Ijut fair, however, to add that toward the 
close of the war he reasserted his nation- 
alism, confidently anticipating the expan- 
sion and glory of the republic. F"or the 
rest, his life was spent upon his estate 
at Morrisania, varied by considerable 
traveling in all sections, dispensing hos- 
pitalities, corresponding extensively and 
happy in his domestic life. He married 
Anne Gary Randolph, of the celebrated 
Virginia family. December 25, 1809, and 
by her had one son. He died November 
6, 1816, aged sixty-four years. The Chris- 
tian name of Gouverneur has descended 
through three generations and is now 
held by the well known author of short 
stories, in whose pages may be traced 
sometliing of the wit and versatility of his 
great-grandfather. 



LEWIS. Morgan, 

Soldier, Jndge, Governor. 

Morgan Lewis, the third governor of 
New York, does not rank with the great 
statesmen of the commonwealth, for in- 
itiative or shining exploits, but tlie record 



of his life is one of arduous duty faith- 
fully performed as a soldier, jurist and 
executive. He had the advantages of 
liberal education, influentird family con- 
nections and patriotic associations, which 
he utilized conscientiously and effectively. 
His father, Francis, born in LlandafT, 
.South Wales, in 1713, also received a 
good education, for his day. and a con- 
siderable inheritance in property, which 
he converted into trading wares, em- 
barked for America, in 1735, at first, lo- 
cating in I'hiladelphia but, two years 
later, settling in New York where he be- 
came a prominent and enterprising man 
of alTairs, engaging principally in foreign 
commerce — what in modern parlance is 
styled a "merchant prince." In the French 
and Indian war, he was the government 
agent in procuring supplies for the 
troops ; and was at the defence of Oswe- 
go, in 1756, for which in recognition of 
his merits there, he received a grant of 
5,000 acres of land, portions of which 
subsequently became exceedingly valu- 
able. Included in the surrender to Mont- 
calm, he was sent as a prisoner to France, 
where he remained till regularly exchang- 
ed. From the first, he ranged himself 
with the patriotic party against the ag- 
gressions of the crown and, in 1775, was 
elected a delegate to the Continental 
Congress and was successively returned 
thereto until 1779. In 1776, he was one of 
the four delegates from New York privi- 
leged to sign the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence ; and was also a delegate to the 
convention that framed the first constitu- 
tion of the State, in 1777. Shortly after 
his arrival in New York, he married the 
daughter of Edward Annesly, for some- 
time his business partner. By his efforts 
in behalf of the Revolution, he suffered 
the loss of a large part of his fortune, but 
continued a highly esteemed citizen of 
the metropolis until his death, in 1803, in 
the ninety-first year of his age. 



32 




MORGAN LEWIS 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Morgan Lewis was born in New York, 
October i6, 1754. His preparatory course 
was at the school, in Elizabethtown, 
which Hamilton attended, a little later. 
He entered Princeton College and was 
graduated therefrom, with high honors, 
in 1773. Thence, he began the study of 
the law, in the office of John Jay in New 
York; but scarcely had he opened his 
books when, responding to the call of 
the country, he joined a volunteer com- 
pany, of which he became captain, in 
1775, having, meanwhile, been detailed to 
a rifle company in Boston, immediately 
succeeding the engagement at Lexing- 
ton. In November of that year he was 
commissioned a major in the second New 
York infantry, of which Jay was nomi- 
nally the colonel, but full command of the 
regiment soon devolved upon Lewis. In 
June, 1776, he was with Gates as chief-of- 
staff, on the northern frontier ; but on his 
return from Canada, was appointed quar- 
termaster-general of the northern depart- 
ment, continuing as such during the re- 
mainder of the war. 

He then resumed his professional stud- 
ies, was duly admitted to the bar and be- 
gan practice in New York, having a coun- 
try seat in Dutchess county. In the 
spring of 1779 he married Gertrude, the 
sister of Robert R. Livingston, thus 
bringing himself into relations, political, 
as well as social, with the powerful fam- 
ily whose leadership he followed from 
the Federalist into the Republican party 
at the appointed time. In 1790 he was 
elected to the Assembly from New York 
and, in 1791, was returned from the 



nation for (iovernor in 1804, under pecu- 
liar circumstances. Aaron Burr, then 
\'ice-President, but whose political for- 
tunes were on the wane owing to his un- 
happy intrigue to seize the Presidency, 
supplementing the tie vote between Jef- 
ferson and himself in the electoral col- 
leges, desired to rehabilitate himself by 
being chosen Governor. Notwithstand- 
ing his discomfiture at Washington, this 
wily politician had still a devoted Repub- 
lican following in the State and this, with 
the belief on his part that a majority of 
the I'ederalists would also aid him, in- 
duced him to strive to compass his am- 
bition. So he had his name brought for- 
ward by his faction. The Republican 
legislature, however, in caucus assem- 
bled, rejected him and issued an address, 
signed by one hundred and four of the 
one hundred and thirty-two members, 
placing Justice Lewis in nomination. He 
was an available candidate. After an ex- 
citing and acrimonious contest, Lewis 
was elected by 30,289 to 22,139 votes 
for Burr — Hamilton and his immediate 
friends among the Federalists declining 
to co-operate with the Burrites. 

Governor Lewis's administration, al- 
though beset by certain political compli- 
cations, was, in all public concerns, en- 
tirely creditable to him. Among his first 
official acts was a recommendation for 
further provision in the encouragement 
of a common school system, in which 
Governor Clinton had already blazed the 
way. "Common schools," said Governor 
Lewis, "should be established in every 
village and the indigent educated at the 



Dutchess district to the same body. On public expen.se." Accordingly, the act 



November 8, 1791, he was appointed 
attorney-general of the State; in 1792 was 
made justice of the Supreme Court, and 
in 1801 its chief justice. His excellent 
tenure on the bench and the combined 
support of the Livingstons and DeWitt 
Clinton assured him the Republican nomi- 
N y-voi 1-3 



was passed substantially ordaining that 
the proceeds of the public lands, amount- 
ing to $1,500,000 should be appropriated 
for the purpose indicated — the foundation 
of the common school fund — one of the 
great landmarks in the splendid progress 
of elementary education in the -State. 



33 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Among other timely suggestions of the 
Governor was the improvement of the 
militia system, including the introduction 
therein of artillery and the erection of 
arsenals, which, as adopted, proved of 
essential service to the State, when the 
war of 1812 approached her borders. 

Governor Lewis was deprived of a re- 
nomination by the Republicans, the Clin- 
ton element having become hostile to him 
because the distribution of executive pat- 
ronage had been contrary to its wishes. 
Nevertheless, the Governor entered the 
canvass at the bidding of the faction of 
his party known as "Lewisites" and the 
larger portion of the Federalists — now re- 
duced to a mere band of political guerillas 
— and, under the circumstances, did gal- 
lant battle. Daniel D. Tompkins, then at 
the threshold of his brilliant career, re- 
ceived the regular Republican majority 
and was elected by a bare majority of 
4.085 votes in a total poll of 66,063. Fo'" 
several years the ex-Governor remained 
in comparative retirement on his Dutchess 
estate; but in 1810 accepted the Repub- 
lican nomination for Senator from the 
middle district and was elected. Through- 
out his term of four years he cordially 
sustained the administration of Tomp- 
kins, the "war governor," especially in its 
military policy. In 1812 he was appoint- 
ed quartermaster-general of the United 
States army, and received a commission 
as major-general in March, 1813. As such, 
he had much active service on the north- 
ern frontier and in command of the forces 
intended to resist the threatened attack of 
the British on New York, advancing large 
sums personally for the relief of Ameri- 
can citizens in Canada. At the close of 
the war he again retired to private life, 
alternating his residence between New 
York City and Dutchess county ; but had 
many demonstrations of the respect in 
which he was held by his fellow-citizens. 
Among these was his election as presi- 



dent of the New York Historical Society, 
as grand master of the Masonic Grand 
Lodge, ai'd as president of a great mass 
meeting 01 the Democracy in the spirited 
Presidential contest of 1840. He was a 
Jackson elector in 1828 and chancellor of 
the University of the State of New York 
during his gubernatorial term. He lived 
to the age of eighty-nine years — extreme 
longevity seeming to be hereditary in the 
Lewis line, — dying in New York, April 
7, 1844. In the words of John S. Jenkins 
("Lives of the Governors of New York") : 
"He did not possess striking character- 
istics or showy talents ; but his many ster- 
ling qualities of heart and mind entitle 
him to be held in grateful remembrance. 
To the amenities of the gentleman he 
united the attainments of a scholar. He 
was a friend to the unfortunate ; a public 
benefactor ; kind and amiable in the rela- 
tions of private life ; and a patriot sans 
pciir cf sans rcproche. 



KING, Rufus, 

statesman. Diplomat. 

Rufus King became a citizen of New 
York in 1788. He came hither a man of 
fair estate, his father, Richard, having 
been a successful merchant in Maine ; he 
had married, in 1786, Mary, daughter of 
John Alsop, a prominent capitalist of New 
York; and he had the savings of a lucra- 
tive law practice in Boston. He was of 
dignified mien, refined associations and 
scholarly attainments, of soldierly record 
in the Revolution, of fine oratorical gifts 
and had declared his statesmanship con- 
spicuously in the many offices he had held 
in the State from which he came. He 
was thirty-three years of age. 

He was born in Scarborough, Maine, 
March 24, 1755. He was prepared for col- 
lege by Samuel Moody, of Newburyport, 
Massachusetts, a celebrated preceptor in 
his day ; was graduated from Harvard in 



34 



CL/ 



u 





^ /t^ 



If 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



1777 ; studied law at Newburyport, under 
Theophilus Parsons, afterward the illus- 
trious Chief Justice of Massachusetts ; 
was aide-de-camp on the staff of General 
Glover, commanding a Maine brigade 
under General Sullivan in the expedition 
to repel British invasion of Rhode Island 
in 1778; was admitted to the bar in 1780; 
began practice in Newburyport, at once 
winning success; in 1782 was chosen a 
representative to the General Court ; was 
repeatedly re-elected thereto and assumed 
a leading part in its deliberations. In 
1785 he took his seat as a delegate to the 
Continental Congress, then sitting at 
Trenton, in which he offered the memora- 
ble resolution that "there be neither slav- 
ery nor involuntary servitude in any of 
the States described in the resolution of. 
Congress of April, 1784" — not acted upon 
at the time, but which was incorporated, 
almost word for word, in the famous 
Northwestern Ordinance. In 1787 he was 
a delegate to the convention at Philadel- 
phia that framed the Constitution of the 
United States. The meager minutes of 
the debates that have been preserved 
testify to his active participation in its 
deliberations ; and he was one of the com- 
mittee of five to which was referred the 
revision of the style and arrangement of 
the articles of the instrument. Having 
signed the Constitution he returned home 
to be sent to the State convention that 
passed upon it and led the forces favor- 
ing its ratification against a strong oppo- 
sition. He accomplished his object — rati- 
fication being had by a vote of 187 to 168 
— notably defeating Samuel Adams as 
Hamilton so defeated George Clinton in 
New York and Madison and Marshall 
overcame Patrick Henry in Virginia. 
Decked with this laurel of victory he 
made valedictory to Massachusetts. 

Bearing his sheaf of credentials he re- 
ceived in New York a warm, and even an 
effusive, welcome to the most influential 



social circles and to that renowned coterie 
of Federalist politicians which included 
Hamilton, Jay, Gouveneur Morris and the 
Livingstons, with whom he was at once 
on terms of intimacy. He builded a 
stately mansion amid embowering trees 
and fashioned the grounds at Jamaica, 
the estate of King Park, which, thereafter 
his residence, was long the scene of ele- 
gant life and gracious hospitality, and is 
still kept as a typical Long Island home- 
stead of the colonial architectural stamp. 
He was immediately enlisted in the pub- 
lic service at the time when Federalist 
supremacy was at its acme. Within a 
year after his settlement he was elected 
to the Assembly and was a leader therein. 
So pronounced was his ability, and so 
powerful were his friends, that in the 
same year (1789) he was chosen to the 
United States Senate jointly with Gen- 
eral Schuyler, King drawing the long 
term. He was re-elected in 1795. His 
Senatorial service was upon a lofty plane 
of thought and action. The political diffi- 
culties of the period were very great ; the 
points, foreign and domestic, to be ar- 
ranged, complex, and the finances at the 
first in a deplorable condition. To these 
issues Senator King gave diligent con- 
sideration and made wise and weighty 
utterances concerning them. He was a 
tower of strength to Washington's ad- 
ministration and materially assisted Ham- 
ilton in perfecting his economic jwlicies. 
He was potent in securing the ratification 
of the Jay treaty, not alone b_v his pleas 
in the Senate, but also as an author, with 
Hamilton, of the series of essays, over 
the signature of "Camillus," which at- 
tracted wide attention and threw a flood 
of light uj)on the question. No member 
was listened to more respectfully nor re- 
garded more deferentially by his col- 
leagues than was the senior Senator from 
N'ew York. Politically, as has been said, 
he was an earnest Federalist and con- 



35 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



sistently supported the measures of his 
party, but not infrequently manifested 
independence when his judgment dis- 
approved. His mind protruded no angles 
of hatreds or envyings, and in a period of 
intense recriminations and revenges he 
moved serenely and unassailed. His habit 
was that of conciliation upon matters im- 
material ; upon cardinal principles he was 
firmness itself. Alexander draws this 
vivid pen picture of him : "To the society 
of contemporaries, regardless of party. 
King was always welcome. He disliked 
a quarrel. It seemed to be his eflfort to 
avoid controversy, and when compelled 
to lead, or to participate conspicuously, 
in heated debate, he carefully abstained 
from giving offense. Benton bears testi- 
mony to his habitual observance of the 
courtesies of life. Indeed, his urbanity 
made a deep impression upon all his col- 
leagues * * Among friends he talked 
freely, often facetiously, as his remark- 
able memory gave up with accuracy and 
facility the product of extensive travel, 
varied experiences, close observation and 
much reading. His statements, especially 
those relating to historical and political 
details, were rarely questioned." 

In 1796 he resigned the Senatorship to 
accept the mission to England tendered 
him by President Washington, having 
previously declined the portfolio of State 
made vacant by the resignation of Ed- 
mund Randolph. For eight succeeding 
years he fulfilled most ably and accepta- 
bly the duties of the office. No American 
minister was more sagacious in divining 
the views and purposes of European cabi- 
nets nor more careful in keeping his own 
government informed of them. He was 
persona grata at the Court of St. James. 
His diplomatic correspondence is es- 
teemed a model in style and appropriate- 
ness in topics. Upon JefiFerson's acces- 
sion to the Presidency he asked to be re- 
called, but the President requested him to 



remain until certain pending negotiations 
were progressed, and he did not return 
to this country until 1804, when he re- 
tired for a time to his Jamaica estate, 
where he revived its hospitalities, engaged 
in correspondence with friends in both 
hemispheres and cultivated and embel- 
lished his grounds. 

He reluctantly consented to the Fed- 
eralist nomination for the Vice-Presi- 
dency in 1804 and again in 1808, but in 
each case, as he well knew, he headed a 
"forlorn hope" that vainly assailed the 
Republican stronghold at Washington. 
In 1813 he was recalled to the Senate, 
being chosen on joint legislative ballot 
by a majority of seven over the Repub- 
lican candidate, James W. Wilkins, the 
Clintonians uniting with the Federalists 
to that end. He cordially supported the 
national administration in the War of 
1812, dissenting from the New England 
Federalists and giving no countenance to 
the proceedings of the Hartford conven- 
tion ; and also sustaining Tompkins in 
this State, pledging his honor, when the 
banks would loan only upon the indorse- 
ment of the governor, to support him in 
whatever he did for the public safety. 
When the capitol was burned by the 
British he rebuked the proposal to re- 
move the seat of government to the in- 
terior and in a speech of remarkable 
l)ower summoned the people to avenge 
the outrage and defend the republic. He 
made strenuous opposition to the bill re- 
chartering the United States Bank, again 
dififering with the majority of his party 
associates; and to his intelligent exposi- 
tion of the laws of navigation and of the 
mercantile interests and rights of the 
country the Act of 1818, guaranteeing 
them, is largely due. In the incipient 
stages of the debate on the Missouri ques- 
tion he mingled freely, earnestly protest- 
ing against the admission of the territory 
as a slave State. In 1816, without his 



36 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



knowledge or consent, he was named as 
the Federalist candidate for governor, 
and, after much solicitation, agreed to 
stand. His vote, under the circumstances 
of Republican national control and abun- 
dant patronage and the still continuing 
popularity of Tompkins, was a flattering 
one ; but Tompkins was elected for his 
fourth and last term. The Senator was 
also, in the same year, the Federalist 
candidate for the Presidency, receiving 
thirty-four votes only in the electoral col- 
leges to one hundred and thirty-four for 
Monroe. In each case the inference is 
obvious that he permitted the use of his 
name in a spirit of self-sacrifice, as he 
was not in full sympathy with the pur- 
poses of his decadent party, and the pros- 
pect of success was more than dismal. It 
was an impossibility. The most tliat 
could be hoped for was a brief respite 
from annihilation. 

He was, however, re-elected to the 
Senate, January 8. 1820, under unique 
conditions, never finding repetition in the 
politics of the State. The Republican 
party, nationally supreme and supreme 
also in the State, if united, was rent by 
factional quarrels. The combat between 
"Bucktails" and Clintonians waxed fast 
and furious. The Legislature of i8ig, the 
year in which King's incumbency expired, 
had failed, after much wrangling, to elect 
his successor, leaving the State but half 
lepresented. When the Legislature of 
1820 met it was like "all Caul divided into 
three parts" — the factions named and the 
Federalist contingent. Dift'erences were 
acute and agreement seemed remote, with- 
out chance of electing a Senator of either 
stripe. It was then that Van Buren, 
sensing the opportunity and fertile in re- 
source, addressed to the "Bucktail" mem- 
bers a letter which was at once a skill- 
ful political stroke and a splendid tribute 
to the worth of Rufus King, proposing 
him as his own successor. In it the Fed- 



eralists were described as of three classes, 
viz. : The violent partisans who were de- 
termined to rule or ruin ; the blind ad- 
herents who thought the war unpolitic ; 
and the intelligent few who, notwith- 
stnding their hostility to the Republicans, 
felt themselves bound by their obligations 
to the country to support the war meas- 
ures of the government; and at the head 
of these Rufus King was unhesitatingly 
placed. The eulogy was as well deserved 
as the device was persuasive. The "Buck- 
tails" followed Van Buren as the sheep 
flock the bell-wether, the Clintonians 
were forced into line, and the Federalists 
joined in as a matter of course. All 
parties concurring. King's selection was 
made with practical unanimity; but the 
astute [jolitical coup, for which \'an 
r.uren was mainly resi)onsil)le, aside, it 
was, after all, the e.xaltetl character, the 
magnetic statesmanshiji and devoted pa- 
triotism of King himself that gave him a 
strength that no other man could have 
commanded and carried the day. 

His last term was, consistent with his 
record in dignity of deportment and value 
of counsel, distinguished especially for 
his continued resistance to the aggres- 
sions of slavery. He was instructed, al- 
though he needed no instruction, by the 
Legislature to oppose the admission of 
Missouri as a slave State, to which he had 
already committed himself, and his speech 
against it was one of the most powerful 
pleas for free soil that ever found utter- 
ance in the national Senate. He also, by 
resolution, advocated a scheme for the 
manimiission and colonization of slaves 
by applying the proceeds of public lands 
to that end. From first to last he was an 
anti-slavery champion within constitu- 
tional limitations. In 1821 he had the 
pleasure of greeting Van Buren to a seat 
beside him, and the friendship between 
these statesmen continued unim])aired 
while he lived. He was a delegate from 



i? 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Queens county to the State Constitutional 
Convention in 1821, in which, with linger- 
ing attachment to the Federalist order, he 
opposed changes in the elective, appointive 
and judicial systems. On March 4, 1825, 
having declined a re-election on account 
of his advanced age, he bade affectionate 
farewell to the body in which he had 
served so long- — twenty years, the longest 
tenure accorded to any New York Sena- 
tor. Two months after his retirement 
from the Senate, President Adams com- 
missioned him as envoy extraordinary 
and minister plenipotentiary to Great 
Britain, which post he accepted with mis- 
givings because of his impaired health. 
Me was cordially welcomed at the court, 
after twenty years of absence, but, his 
health still failing, he soon resigned and 
returned to his home at King Park, where 
he died April 29, 1827, at the age of 
seventy-two years. The degree of Doc- 
tor of Laws had been conferred upon him 
by four northern colleges — Dartmouth. 
1802; Williams, 1803; Harvard, 1806, and 
University of Pennsylvania, 1815. A 
large family survived him. Two of his 
sons had eminent careers — John A. as 
Governor of the State, and Charles as 
president of Columbia. A grandson. Gen- 
eral Charles King, and a granddaughter, 
Madame Waddington, wife of a French 
premier, are well known in the world of 
letters. 



BURR. Aaron, 

Soldier, Vice-President. 

Aaron Burr was born at Newark, New 
Jersey, February 6, 1756, son of Aaron 
and Esther (Edwards) Burr. His father, 
who came of a distinguished stock, was 
president of the College of New Jersey, 
and his mother was a daughter of the 
distinguished divine, Jonathan Edwards. 
Both of his parents died while he was 
still an infant, and from them he inherited 



a considerable estate, of which his uncle 
acted as guardian during his minority. 

He was graduated from the College of 
New Jersey in 1772, and he was about to 
enter upon the study of law when the 
Revolutionarj" War broke out. In July, 
1775, he rode to Cambridge, Massachu- 
setts, and enlisted as a private in the Con- 
tinental army, and for the next five years 
he was a faithful soldier. He accom- 
panied Benedict Arnold to Canada, and 
in the storming of Quebec displayed so 
much dash and brilliancy that he was 
made a major, and given a place in Gen- 
eral Washington's military family. Owing 
to disagreements with his distinguished 
chief, however, he was soon transferred 
to the staff of General Putnam, whom he 
assisted in the defence of New York. In 
1777 he was promoted to lieutenant- 
colonel, and distinguished himself at 
Hackensack and at Monmouth. For a 
portion of the winter of 1778-79 he was 
in command at West Point, and in Janu- 
ary of the latter year he was given com- 
mand in Westchester county, at that time 
the most exposed district in New York 
State. Although but twenty-three years 
of age, he displayed in this difficult posi- 
tion such skill and valor that he won the 
admiration both of his soldiers and of the 
people. In March, 1779, ill health forced 
him to withdraw from the army, and he 
sent in his resignation to Washington, 
who, in accepting it, remarked that "he 
not only regretted the loss of a good 
officer, but the cause which rendered his 
resignation necessary." 

Three years later he was admitted to 
the bar at Albany, New York, and his 
success as a lawyer was as brilliant and 
rapid as his success as a soldier. At this 
time he married a Mrs. Prcvost, who is 
described as a very charming and highly 
cultivated woman, the widow of an Eng- 
lish officer. She was ten years older than 
Burr, and had two sons, but neither of 



38 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



these facts detracted from the felicity of 
the marriage, in the first year of which 
Burr's only child, Theodosia, was born. 
The following ten years witnessed the 
climacteric of his happiness and prosper- 
ity. He was at the head of his profes- 
ion. a leader in political life, happy in his 
domestic relations at his beautiful man- 
sion at Richmond Hill, Long Island, 
which he made the scene of a luxurious 
hospitality, and having among his guests, 
besides the most distinguished person- 
ages of the infant republic, Louis Philippe, 
Volney and Talleyrand. In 1788 he was 
appointed Attorney-General of the State. 
In 1 791 he was elected United States 
Senator by a combination of Clintonians 
and a portion the Federalists. He was 
a skillful and adroit manager thus to keep 
the favor of one faction of his party and 
to coquette with an element of the oppo- 
sition while organizing his own faction, 
thereafter known as Burrites. In 1794 
Mrs. Burr died, and thenceforth Aaron 
Burr centred the whole aiTection of his 
passionate nature upon his daughter, 
then eleven years old. He personally 
superintended her education, and made 
her his companion, a devotion which 
was repaid in full measure in later years. 
In the Presidential election of 1800 he 
secured the vote of New York State to 
the Republicans, and therefore the na- 
tional election, Jefferson and himself both 
receiving seventy-three votes ; Adams, 
sixty-five, and Pinckney, sixty-four. He 
was at this time "the chosen head of 
northern Democracy, idol of New York 
City, and aspirant ,to the highest offices he 
could reach by means legal or beyond 
law." After an exciting contest in the 
House of Representatives, in which a por- 
tion of the Federalists attempted to elect 
Burr to the Presidency, and in which Burr 
himself has been accused of intriguing 
with them to elect himself, Jefferson was 
made President and Burr became Vice- 



President. For his alleged treachery, Burr 
was deserted by his party. In 1804 he was 
the candidate of the Federalists for gov- 
ernor of New York, and would probably 
have been elected but for the opposition of 
Alexander Hamilton, who had also been 
instrumental in keeping him out of the 
Presidency. This opposition, aggravated 
by certain uncomplimentary epithets 
which Hamilton is alleged to have applied 
to Burr, gave rise to quarrel between 
them, which culminated in a duel at 
Weehawken-on-the-Hudson, July 7, 1804. 
Burr was the challenging party, and 
Hamilton was killed. As the news spread, 
it carried a wave of emotion over the en- 
tire country, and roused everywhere sen- 
sations strangely mixed. In New York 
the Clinton interest, guided by James 
Cheetham, editor of the "American Citi- 
zen," seized the moment to destroy Burr's 
influence- forever. Cheetham denounced 
the duel as a murder, and procured Burr's 
indictment, which drove him from the 
State. Charges were made to support 
this' theory, and were accepted as his- 
tory. In the South and West, on the 
other hand, the duel was considered a 
simple afTair of honor, in which Burr ap- 
peared to better advantage than his op- 
ponent- 
Burr spent some time with his daugh- 
ter, who was happily and prosperously 
married to Mr. Joseph Allston, and was 
living at her husband's estate in South 
Carolina, but later he returned to Wash- 
ington and resumed his duties as Vice- 
President. His resolution and fortitude 
stood him in good stead : the loss of his 
prestige and popularity did not affect him 
as it would have done a weaker man, and 
his active mind had already formulated 
new courses of action. Failing in his effort 
to procure from the administration an 
office suitable to his talents, at the expira- 
tion of his official term in 1805, he made a 
journcv through the .Southwest, in the 



39 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



course of which he developed what seems then in the full height of her beauty and 
to have been a scheme of empire depend- 
ent partly on conquest and partly on the 
secession of the Southwest from the 
Union. Just before setting out on this 
journey, he wrote to his son-in-law: "In 
New York 1 am to be disfranchised, and 
in New Jersey hanged. Having substan- 
tial objections to both 1 shall not for the 
present hazard either, but shall seek an- 
other country." With $40,000, which 
lUcnnerhassett put into his hands for that 
purpose, he bought four hundred thou- 
sand acres of Red River land, with a 
somewhat doubtful title, as a rendezvous 
and base of operations, and then pro- 
ceeded to secure co-operators. He did 
this so successfully that many men of 
prominence at Washington, as well as in 
the Southwest, became implicated iri the 
enterprise to a greater or less extent. .\s 
nearly as can be judged in the lack of 
positive knowledge, this was the scheme : 
Lkirr was to become ruler of Louisiana 
under British protection, in which capac- 
ity he would give validity to the disputed 
land titles ; the Western States were to 
secede from the Union, and join the new 



intellectual powers, awakened much sym- 
pathy and interest, and doubtless had an 
influence in procuring his release. The 
jury Ijrought in the following carefully 
worded verdict : "W'e of the jury say that 
.'Varon P.urr is not proved to be guilty 
under the indictment by any evidence 
submitted to us. We, therefore, find him 
not guilty." Later, Purr and the princi- 
jial conspirators were tried for misde- 
meanor in fitting out an expedition 
.igainst Mexico, but were acquitted on 
technical grounds. 

L'.urr went to Europe in 180S, hoping to 
obtain there the means of making an 
attack upon Mexico. It was a bootless 
mission, however, and after four years of 
<!isa]:pnintment and privation he returned 
to New York, disguised and poverty- 
stricken, to meet the severest blow for- 
tune had yet rlealt to him. A few faith- 
ful friends had scarcely welcomed him to 
their midst, when the death of Theodosia's 
only child was announced to him ; the 
faithful and grief-stricken daughter, hast- 
ening to greet her idolized father, per- 
ished off Cape Hatteras, but whether in a 
storm or as a victim of pirates has never 



government ; Spanish jjossessions to the been known, liurr, who attained only 
southward were to he conquered ; then moderate success in his practice in New 



the enfeebled Union of the seaboard 
States would fall to pieces; Purr would 
get an empire, and Blennerhassett fabu- 
lous wealth in return for his $40,000 in- 
vestment. Put l)efore this elaborate pro- 
gram could lie carried out, the .Xmerican 
people became so suspicious and alarmed 
that President Jefferson ordered Purr's 
arrest, and he was indicted for hijjh 



York, after twenty-three years married, 
in his seventy-eighth year, Madame 
Jumel, a b'rench woman, a ^vidow of 
means, but later he separated from her. 
Hurr was the most fascinating and bril- 
liant man of his time. Perhaps no better 
summary of his character has been made 
than that by Thomas Jefferson, who 
called him "a great man in little things, 



treason. His trial, which lasted from a small man in great things." He is re- 



March 2/ to Septemljcr 7, 1806, is one of 
the most remarkable events in American 
history. Chief Justice Marshall presided ; 
Wirt, Rfxlney and Hay took jxirt in the 
prosecution, and Luther Martin and Ed- 
mund Randolph in the defence. The 
presence and devotion of his daughter. 



membered chiefly for his adventures and 
misfortunes. (See "Life and Times of 
Aaron Burr," by James Parton ; "Life of 
Purr," by M. L. Davis; Purr's "European 
Diary," aiul "The Report of the Trial for 
Treason"). He died at Staten Island, 
New York, September 14, 1836. 



40 





a 



^^^xir 



^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



HAMILTON, Alexander, 

Orator, Lanryer, Constructive Statesman. 

Alexander Hamilton, of versatile and 
transcendent genius, the persuasive ora- 
tor, the brilliant soldier, the right arm of 
VVasliington, the foremost constructive 
statesman of his era, was born on the 
Island of Nevis, West Indies, January 
II, 1757, the son of James Hamilton and 
Rachel Fawcett. 

The father, scion of a proud Scotch 
family, was of fascinating address, quick 
intelligence, college bred, of amiable and 
engaging traits, but errant in purpose, 
inconstant in industry, unlucky in enter- 
prise — essentially a weak character, with 
some exterior graces. The mother, of 
French Huguenot extraction, and of aris- 
tocratic island lineage, who, it is not 
clear, had been legally released from a 
former ill-starred marriage, was of im- 
pressive stature, stately carriage and ex- 
quisitely chiseled features ; with unusual 
mental endowments, conversant with the 
sciences and many tongues, accomplished 
in art and music ; defiant of the conven- 
tions and overcoming them ; loyal to her 
husband and sacrificing her fortunes to 
his adversities, idolizing her son and in- 
forming him with the loftiest ambitions. 
She died when he was eleven years old, 
out her memory was kept, a constant in- 
spiration to his activities. 

His father's calamitous circumstances, 
culminating when Alexander had barely 
reached his seventh year, compelled the 
family to seek refuge in the home of an 
elder sister of Rachel, who was prosperous- 
ly wedded on St. Croix. Here Alexander 
spent the most of his strenuous yet buoy- 
ant boyhood, the leader in the sports and 
scrimmages of the vicinage. His educa- 
tion, begun with lessons in French at his 
mother's knees, continued in desultory 
yet diligent mode. Phenomenally preco- 
cious, he read omnivorouslv the literature 



that the place afforded (Plutarch, Shake- 
sjjeare and Pope being his favorite 
authors), digesting what he read, and, 
with the help of an acute memory, attain- 
ing that concentration of mind upon a 
given subject which later possessed him; 
and, in composition, the rudiments of 
that terse, trenchant and logical style, in 
which he became pre-eminent. He was 
materially aided in his learning by the 
Rev. Hugh Knox, a Presbyterian minis- 
ter — at once tutor and devotee — who 
forecast the destiny that awaited him, 
and soon confessed that he was beyond 
his teaching. 

Placed in a counting room before he 
was twelve, he speedily gained an accurate 
knowledge of and practically managed a 
not inconsiderable business, suggestive 
of the skill that ultimately made him the 
solver of a nation's economic problems. 
Meanwhile, he prosecuted his studies, 
eager for a higher education in a broader 
field, conscious of his capacity, resolved 
to exalt his station, and aspiring espe- 
cially to military employment, as set forth 
in his notable letter to his friend, Ed- 
ward Stevens. He gained local distinc- 
tion by a graphic description of a West 
India hurricane he had witnessed. .\t 
length opportunity knocked. All who 
knew him united in glowing anticipations 
of his future ; and, supplied by his rela- 
tives with means and by Knox with let- 
ters to prominent clergymen, he set sail 
for P.oston, where he arrived in October, 
1772. Thence he went to New York. 
There his pleasing deportment and mani- 
fest promise met welcome and encourage- 
ment. He was directed to a well known 
grammar school at Elizabeth, New Jer- 
sey, at which he prepared himself for 
King's College in less than a year. He 
completed the curriculum of that institu- 
tion in half the time ordinarily required, 
and extended his range to questions of 
finance, politics and government, with 



41 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



particular attention to the grave issues 
between the provinces and tlie mother 
country. 

To these he applied himself with open 
mind, his prepossessions inclining him to 
the British side. His New York associa- 
tions were largely, if not exclusively, of 
Tory stamp, Dr. Cooper, president of the 
college, being an intense Royalist ; but his 
close investigation of the situation — his 
student habit — with a visit to Boston, al- 
ready flaming with revolt, led him to 



increasing the repute in which he was 
held. In March, 1776, he accepted the 
captaincy of a New York artillery com- 
pany, for, added to his devotion to the 
country, the love of war still enticed him. 
Had he remained in the field, he would 
undoubtedly have risen to high command. 
His masterly handling of his battery at 
White Plains and at the crossing of the 
Raritan, as well as his facility with the 
pen, brought him to the attention of 
Washington, who made him, somewhat 



espouse the patriot cause, of which he at against his will, an aide-de-camp on the 



once became an ardent promoter. And 
he bounded into the limelight, i^t a meet- 
ing in "the Fields," July 6, 1774, to foster 
resistance to parliamentary exactions and 
to bring "pressure" to bear upon the As- 



general's stafif and military secretary, 
with the rank of lieutenant-colonel ; and 
thus began that personal and official inti- 
macy between them that lasted during 
their joint lives, the mutual tenderness 



sembly, ministerial in its majority, this and trust of which has immortalized it 



stripling collegian volunteered the ex- 
pression of his sentiments. An ecstatic 
admirer (Gertrude Atherton, in "The 
Conqueror") draws this pen picture of 
him at the time: "They stared at Hamil- 
ton in amazement, for his slender little 
figure and fair curling hair, tied loosely 
with a ribbon, made him look a mere boy, 
while his proud, high-bred face, the fine 
green broadcloth of his fashionably cut 
garments, the delicate lawn of his shirt, 
and the profusion of lace with which it 
was trimmed, particularly about his ex- 
quisite hands (he was always fastidious 
in his dress), gave him far more the ap- 
pearance of a court favorite than a cham- 
pion of liberty. Some smiled, others 
grunted, but all remained to listen, for 
the attempt was novel, and he was beau- 
tiful to look upon." His speech, impas- 
sioned in appeal, yet impact with reason 
and cogent with fact, roused his hearers 
to enthusiasm, and lifted him to the ])in- 
nacle of popular regard. 

He followed his oratorical triumph with 
a series of patriotic pamphlets, attributed. 



among the friendships of history. Hamil- 
ton was both the scribe and adviser of his 
chief, inditing dispatches and orders, 
often originating them. He was sent with 
plenary powers on delicate and difficult 
missions to Gates and other field com- 
manders, and varied his official duties by 
statesmanlike deliverances upon civil 
aiTairs. He was but twenty-three years 
old when he wrote two remarkable let- 
ters — the one to Robert Morris on the 
desperate financial straits, and the other 
to James Duaiie, examining the causes 
and suggesting cures for economic and 
political disorders. 

Resigning from the stafT in 1778, ir a 
moment of resentment at what he con- 
sidered an ill-deserved rebuke by his 
chief, he signalized a brief service in the 
army by his dashing assault upon the 
first redoubt at Yorktown. He also com- 
menced the "Continental papers," finish- 
ing them after his return to private life, 
in which he described the woes of the 
Confederacy : 

There is something noble and magnificent in 



at the first, to various prominent persons, the perspective of a great federal republic, 
but, when their authorship was known, closely linked in the pursuit of a common inter- 



42 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



est, tranquil and prosperous at home, respected 
abroad; but there is something diminutive and 
contemptible in the prospect of a number of 
petty States, with the appearance only of union, 
jarring, jealous and perverse, without any deter- 
mined direction, fluctuating and unhappy at 
home, weak and insignificant in the eyes of 
other nations. Happy America! if those to 
whom thou hast intrusted the guardianship of 
thy infancy, know how to provide for thy 
future repose; but miserable and undone, if their 
negligence or ignorance permits the spirit of 
discord to erect her banner on the ruins of thy 
tranquility. 

On December 14, 1780, despite the bar 
sinister, Hamilton married Elizabeth, 
daughter of General Philip Schuyler, win- 
ning a fair, sensible and cultured woman 
as his wife, connecting himself with a 
family rich in ancestral acres and honor- 
able preferments, and cementing personal 
friendship and political union with its 
head. Hamilton was admitted to practice 
law in 1782, studying in Albany, settling 
in New York, and soon becoming the 
leader of the bar of the State. From 1784 
until 1787 he was a regent of the univer- 
sity of the State, taking a deep interest 
in higher education, a principal institu- 
tion of that order bearing his name. Con- 
tinuing his efforts in behalf of national 
unity, he was Continental Receiver of 
Taxes in New York ; was chosen a repre- 
sentative in the Continental Congress and 
to the Assembly; drafted the .\nnapolis 
address, and took his seat in the Consti- 
tutional Convention at Philadelphia in 
May, 1787, with Robert Yates and John 
Lansing, Jr., extreme States' rights men, 
as his colleagues. He participated promi- 
nently, if not frecjuently, in its debates, 
and proposed a scheme of government 
that he admitted could not be acceptable 
to a majority of the delegates, in that the 
central authority, for which he provided, 
signified a limited monarchy in substance, 
if not in form. The Virginia plan, for 
which Madison was mainly responsible, 



prevailed; and the Constitution, with its 
democratic preamble, the selection of 
President by State electors, representa- 
tion in the lower house of the Congress 
by population, and in the upper by States, 
with its compromises, balances and 
checks, dependent upon its ratification by 
three-fourths of the States, was ordained. 
Hamilton was an Opportunist as well 
as a Nationalist, willing to take what he 
could get, if the sovereignty of the Union 
over that of the separate commonwealths 
of which it was composed was recog- 
nized ; and, satisfied that the instrument, 
it rightly construed, was competent for 
administration, he signed it — alone of the 
New York delegates, his colleagues re- 
fusing so to do, and turning their backs 
upon the convention. Hamilton threw 
his soul into the contest for confirmation. 
During the autumn of 1787 and the win- 
ter of 1788 the eighty-five essays of "The 
Federalists," over fifty of which were his 
own. and the remainder by Madison and 
Jay, were published, with the view of en- 
listing support for the Constitution. To 
Hamilton, the sobriety of judgment, 
solidity of structure, dignity of style and 
appositeness of argument, which distin- 
guish it, are largely, if not entirely, due, 
"entitling him to the first place in the 
literature of the day." — (Henry Cabot 
Lodge). Its rank is an exalted one among 
the political writings of all time. It has 
sometimes been classed with "L'Esprit des 
Lois" of Montesquieu and "II Principe" 
of Machiavelli; but in sincerity and 
strength it is much the superior of either. 
The most memorable fight on ratification 
was that in New York. Her convention 
met at Poughkeepsie, June 17, and ad- 
journed July 28, 1788. It was, at first, 
stiff anti-Federalist, under the thumb of 
Governor George Clinton, its president, 
two-thirds being of Republican procliv- 
ities. Among these were Yates and 



43 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Lansing — the Philadelphia recalcitrants, 
Melancthon Smith and Samuel Jones ; 
while Duane, Jay, Chancellor Livingston, 
Chief Justice Morris and Hamilton — a 
host in himself — were in the Federal 
array. He was continually on his feet, 
indefatigable in labor, exhaustless in re- 
sources, animated and forcible in address 
— the peerless orator throughout — argu- 
ing, entreating, cajoling, threatening, tri- 
umphing. Gradually, but surely, the 
ranks of the adversaries were thinned by 
desertions and reduced to a minority. 
Melancthon Smith, hardly a memory now, 
but then accounted a high-minded and 
skillful debater, who repeatedly crossed 
swords with Hamilton, confessed that he 
was convinced. Others followed suit ; 
and the Constitution was ratified — thirty 
yeas, twenty-seven nays — seven delegates, 
among whom was Clinton, not being re- 
corded. The victory was scored — an 
amazing one in oratorical annals. Hamil- 
ton received a tremendous ovation upon 
his return to New York, and the nation 
resounded with his praise. 

On March 2, 1789, he became Secretary 
of the Treasury, the certificate of Morris, 
the perfect confidence of Washington, 
and his own universally acknowledged 
primacy as a financier, concurring in the 
wisdom of his appointment. As the up- 
holder of a concrete nationality, succeed- 
ing the chaos of the Confederacy, with 
the purpose of knitting more closely the 
union of the States and establishing order 
on the basis of an upright and liberal 
policy, he fired what Carlyle would call 
his "proof-shot," in his renowned report 
on the public credit. He followed this 
with a series of luminous reports upon 
the excise, currency and manufactures ; 
and from these were evolved the fund- 
ing, revenue, banking and protective sys- 
tems, with the foreign policy of "peace 
with all nations, entangling alliances with 
none." It is no reflection upon the im- 



mense service rendered by Washington, 
in peace not less than in war, to affirm 
that the dominant policies of his adminis- 
tration were initiated by Hamilton. 

In January, 1795, Hamilton withdrew 
from the Cabinet, having previously 
driven out Jefferson. His health was 
somewhat impaired by his incessant 
work ; and he was impelled by the need 
of an ampler income, than the meager 
salary of his office yielded, to resume his 
lucrative legal practice. Thereafter he 
held no public position save that of major- 
general in the provisional army, with 
Washington in command, anticipatory of 
a threatened war with France, happily 
averted, the details of its organization 
devolving upon him, for which he was 
peculiarly qualified. But with national 
afTairs generally, he kept in intimate 
touch, mainly writing the Farewell Ad- 
dress,* stoutly defending the Jay treaty in 
the "Camillus" papers— still the prince of 
pamphleteers — pulverizing "Citizen" Ge- 
net, moderately approving the "alien and 
sedition" laws, vindicating neutrality, 
planning an elaborate disquisition on civil 
government, and constantly consulted by 
Washington. He was, unquestionably, 
the chief of the Federalist party, devising 
its measures, directing its agencies, and 
provoking the bitter comment of the elder 
Adams that Hamilton was "the com- 



•In connection witli the authorship of this im- 
mort.Tl document. Elizabeth Hamilton, under 
date of Aueust 7. l.'*40. pives this version, quoted 
in fun by Oertrude Atherton In "The Conqueror:' 
"A short' time previous to General Washington 
retirinp from the presidency. General Hamilton 
supTKested to him the idea of delivering- a fare- 
well address to the people, on his withdrawal 
from public life, with which idea General Wash- 
ington was well pleased, and. In his answer to 
Mr. Hamilton's sugprestion. Rave him the heads 
of the subjects on which he would wish to re- 
mark with a request that Mr. Hamilton would 
prepare a draft for him. Mr. Hamilton did so. 
• • • The whole, or nearly all the address 
was read to me bv him as he wrote it, and the 
g-reater part if not all, was written in my pres- 
ence The orlBinal was forwarded to General 
WashinKton, who approved of it with the excep- 
tion of one paragraph of. I think, from four to 
five lines on the subject of the public schools, 
which was slrickr-n out. It was afterward re- 
turned to Mr. Hamilton, who made the desired 
alter.ntlon. and was afterward delivered to Gen- 
eral Washington and published in that form. 



44 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGR.\PHY 



mander-in-chief of the Mouse of Repre- a lawyer, as much has been written, 
sentatives, of the Senate, of the heads of Suffice it here to say, that he was a great 



departments, of General Washington ; 
and last, but not least, if you will, of the 
President of the United States." 

Hamilton was not a trained politician 
in the ordinary acceptation of the term. 
He abhorred petty plots and underground 
intrigues. He was of affable manners 
and sparkling wit, companionable with 
those he regarded as on his social plane, 
but not brooking familiarity from in- 
feriors; and he never condescended to 
the mob. He was sometimes testy of 
temper and intolerant of opposition. He 
saw his own side of the case, and with 
him there was no other side. Impatient 
of restraint, he counted not the odds 
against him. He expected to win b}' 
sheer intellectual force. His leadership 
was that of principle and not of art ; and 
in party management he made tactical 
mistakes. One of these was his alien- 
ation of the powerful Livingston family ; 
another was the nomination of Robert 
Yates, with his Republican antecedents. 
against Clinton for governor — the placing 
of the baton of a marshal in the hands of 
a deserter from the enemy, a cardinal 
blunder in politics as in war — and, the 
most serious blunder of all, his assault 
upon Adams, disintegrating the Federal- 
ists and ensuing in the Republican na- 
tional triumph of 1800. But when, suc- 
ceeding this, the tie electoral vote for 
Jefferson and Burr remanded the presi- 
dential choice to the House, Hamilton, 
solely from patriotic motives, used his 
influence in behalf of Jefferson, whom he 
hated, against P>urr, whom he despised, 
thus frustrating an ignoble conspiracy in 
which a portion of the Federalists were 



constitutional lawyer, as his argument 
for the erection of the national bank, in 
which he invoked the implied powers of 
the constitution ; and his plea in the 
Croswell libel suit, by which he reversed 
the rulings of the common law, reaffirm- 
ed the verdict in the Zenger case, and 
assured forever a free press in a free 
land, conspicuously attest. He was also 
great in all appellate courts, with his 
analytical ken, precise narration, and 
abundant knowledge of precedents, with 
aptness in their application, not infre- 
quently upsetting them in his mainte- 
nance of fundamental principles ; while 
his skillful examination of witnesses and 
his addresses to juries, preferring to 
reason with, rather than to exhort, them, 
made him singularly successful at nisi 
prius. 

At the maturity of his powers, with 
his youthful spirit still prevailing, his 
usefulness unimpaired, amid domestic 
delights and hospitalities, and the devo- 
tion of the nation he had developed, 
.Mexander Hamilton died July 12, 1804, 
aged forty-seven, at the hand of Aaron 
Burr. The circumstances of the duel 
need not here be related. They are known 
to every schoolbo}'. A simple monument 
in Trinity churchyard marks his resting 
place; but his name shines resplendent 
through a century. "Equally apt for war 
and for civil government, with a pro- 
fundity and amplification of view rare 
in practical soldiers or statesmen, he 
stands in the front rank of a generation 
never surpassed in history, a generation 
which includes Fox and Pitt and Grat- 
tan. Stein and Hardenhcrs: and William 



implicated, and thus also stimulating the von Humlinldt, Wellington and Napo- 

malignity of Burr, which pursued him to Icon." — James P.ryce). 
the mortal wounding nt Weehawken, Hamilton had a large family, most of 

four years later. his children filling honorable stations in 

Much might be written of Hamilton as life and attaining old age. His son, John 

45 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



C, published the fullest account of his 
life and letters in the "History of the 
Republic." Elizabeth Schuyler Hamilton 
died in 1857, at the extreme age of ninety- 
seven. Hamilton's children were born 
and named as follows: Philip, January 
22, 1782; Angelica, September 25, 1784: 
Alexander, May 16, 1786; James Alex- 
ander, April 14, 1788; John Church, Au- 
gust 22, 1792; William Stephen, August 
4. 1797; Eliza, November 20, 1799; Philip. 
June 7, 1802. 



ARMSTRONG, John, 

Revolutionary Soldier, Statesman. 

General John Armstrong was born at 
Carlisle, Pennsylvania, November 25, 
1758. His father, John Armstrong (1725- 
1795), rendered gallant service in the war 
with France in 1755-56, and served as 
brigadier-general in the Continental 
army until April 4, 1777, when he resign- 
ed. Subsequently he was twice elected to 
Congress. 

Young Armstrong was a student at 
Princeton College when the Revolution- 
ary War opened, but left his books to 
become an aide on the staff of General 
Mercer. When Mercer received a mortal 
wound at the battle of Princeton, it was 
.Armstrong who bore him from the field, 
and the general died in his arms. After 
the death of Mercer, Armstrong joined 
the staff of General Gates, participating 
with him in the Stillwater and Saratoga 
campaigns. In 1780 he was made adju- 
tant-general of the southern army, but 
owing to sickness served only a short 
time. Later, and until the end of the 
war, he was an aide on the staff of Gen- 
eral Gates. During the encampment of 
the army at Newburg, in 1783, after the 
surrender of Yorktown, the famous 
"Newburg Letters" appeared, which re- 
cited the alleged wrongs of the soldiers, 
and called for an organized movement for 



their redress. These were proved to have 
been written by General Armstrong, but 
General Washington, by prompt action, 
thwarted any evil results that might 
have arisen from them. Many years later, 
General Armstrong published a pamphlet 
defending his action, and contending that 
the letters, which were written in a force- 
ful and masterly manner, were "an hon- 
est, manly, though perhaps indiscreet en- 
deavor to support public credit, and do 
justice to an ill-used and long-suffering 
soldiery." 

After the disbandment of the army, 
General Armstrong returned to Pennsyl- 
vania, where he filled successively the 
offices of secretary and adjutant-general. 
In 1787 he was elected member of Con- 
gress. In 1789 he married a sister of 
Chancellor Livingston, of New York, and, 
removing to that State, was in January, 
1800, chosen United States Senator to 
fill an unexpired term. He served in the 
.Senate until 1802, and again in 1803 and 
1804. From the year last named until 
1810 he was United States Minister to 
France and Spain, where he distinguished 
himself as an astute and successful dip- 
lomatist. Returning to the United States 
in October, 1810, he was appointed briga- 
dier-general, July 6, 1812, and given com- 
mand of the district of New York. In 
March. 1813, he was appointed Secretary 
of War, in which capacity he greatly im- 
proved the condition of the army, infus- 
ing into it an energy hitherto unknown ; 
but the failure of the expedition against 
Canada, and the destruction of Wash- 
ington City by the British, were skill- 
fully taken advantage of by Monroe, his 
enemy and rival, and in September, 1814, 
his resignation was demanded by Presi- 
dent Madison. This ended his public 
career. The remainder of his life was 
passed in retirement in Maryland, and at 
Red Hook, New York, where he wrote 
and published "Notices of the War of 



46 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



1812" (1836); "Memoirs of Generals 
Montgomerj' and Wayne" ; "Treatises 
on Agriculture and Gardening" and "A 
Review of General Wilkinson's Memoirs." 
lie also prepared a military history of the 
Revolution, but the manuscript was de- 
stroyed by fire General Armstrong was 
a man of strong character and superior 
talent, but his usefulness was seriously 
impaired by a fondness for intrigue and a 
morose disposition. He died at Red 
Hook, New York, April i, 1843. 



GALLATIN. Albert, 

Scholar, Stateszaan, Financier, Diplomat. 

Because of his Latin lineage, his alpine 
youth, his public service in the Keystone 
State and at the Federal capital, his so- 
journs in many lands, his knowledge of 
their various tongues, his intercourse with 
their statesmen, his treaties with their 
courts, his familiarity with international 
usages and concerns. Albert Gallatin is 
called a "Citizen of the World," pat- 
excellence; but because the last twenty 
years of his lengthened life were passed 
in New York, his interests, social, finan- 
cial and scientific, linked with hers and 
that his ashes rest in that hallowed 
ground, by which ebbs and flows the 
ceaseless tide of metropolitan activities, 
she claims him as peculiarly her own and 
inscribes his name high upon the role of 
her illustrious citizens. 

Abraham Albert Alphonse Gallatin (so 
christened, but none of the Christian pre- 
fixes being retained, save the matrony- 
mic Albert) was born in Geneva, Switzer- 
land, January 2y, 1761, the son of Jean 
de Gallatin and his wife, Sophia Albertine 
Rollaz. The Gallatins, an ancient and 
distinguished family, for generations in 
Swiss abiding, claiming to descend from 
Callatinus, a Roman consul, were influen- 
tial in the republic and contributed many 
members to its magistracy. Albert's 



father, although in trade, was a councillor 
of state, dying in 1765. His mother died 
in 1770 leaving two children — Albert in 
his ninth year and an invalid daughter, 
ileceasing in childhood. The son ultimate- 
ly received a modest patrimony. His 
tutelage was confided to a maiden lady — 
Mademoiselle Pictet — an intimate friend 
of his mother and a distant relative of 
his father — with whom he remained until 
January, 1773, when he was sent to a 
boarding school and in August, 1776, to 
the Academy in Geneva, from which he 
was graduated in 1779, the first in his 
class in mathematics, natural philosophy 
and Latin, with fair standing in English 
and history, in knowledge of which he 
subsequently became an authority. In 
French, his native tongue, he was a purist 
and was never quite ridden of its accents 
when using another language. At this 
time, he was a constant visitor at the 
home of his grandfather, Abraham, at 
Pregny, near Farney, where he had fre- 
quent opportunity of meeting Voltaire, 
then near his end, whose political thought, 
combined with the mutterings of the 
French Revolution was not without sig- 
nal influence in shaping Gallatin's demo- 
cratic creed and directing his career. At 
Geneva, he made the acquaintance of a 
number of bright young Americans, cer- 
tain of whom gained distinction in the 
service of their country, and were eager 
in the cause of American independence 
then approaching its culmination. He re- 
jected scornfully the proffer of Frederick, 
Landgrave of Hesse-Cassel, of a lieuten- 
ant-colonelcy in a regiment of Hessian 
mercenaries, saying he "would never 
serve a tyrant." Economic and political 
motives conspired in his resolution to try 
his fortunes in America, there, in his own 
words, to "drink in a love for independ- 
ence in the freest country in the uni- 
verse." 

Therefore, with a sheaf of letters to 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



prominent Americans, accompanied by 
Henri Serre, a fellow student in academic 
days, he sailed from L'Orient, May 27, 
1780, debarking at Cape Ann, July 14. 
Follow now a season of wood cutting in 
northeastern Maine, where a Swiss family 
which he knew was located ; a year of 
teaching French to Har\-ard students ; the 
purchase of a quarter interest in 200,000 
acres in Monongalia county, Virginia, 
afterward sold profitably ; a prospecting 
expedition in 1784 in the same region ; 
during which he met Washington, who 
regarded him favorably and urged him to 
become his land agent ; a prolonged stay 
in Richmond, then the gayest and most 
hospitable city in the Union, where his 
fascinating presence, his intellectual at- 
tainments and his delightful conversa- 
tional gifts made him many friends ; his 
taking "the oath of allegiance and fidelity 
to the commonwealth of Virginia" ; his 
receipt of his patrimony of $5,000, on at- 
taining his majority (at twenty-five) ; his 
acquisition of a large tract of land then a 
wilderness, in Fayette county. Western 
Pennsylvania, and his cultivation of a 
farm thereon known as Friendship Hill. 
In May, 1789, he married Sophie, daugh- 
ter of William Allegre, a French Protest- 
ant of Richmond. They passed a few 
happy months together when she died. 

Meanwhile his ability impressed itself 
upon the local community. His political 
principles were established firmly and 
announced boldly. He was a strong anti- 
Federalist and an ardent admirer of Jef- 
ferson, who subsequently trusted him as 
a friend, political and personal. Gallatin's 
initiation in public life was as a member 
of a conference, participated in by thirty- 
three gentlemen from various sections of 
the State, to promote the amendments to 
the Federal constitution, projiosed by 
New York and ratified by the requisite 
number of States. Of this body he was 
an influential member and drafted the 



resolutions that it adopted. In 1789, the 
Assembly of Pennsylvania called a con- 
vention to revise her constitution and 
Gallatin was sent a delegate from Fayette 
county. He does not appear to have 
taken a conspicuous part in its deliber- 
ations, not originally approving the call, 
but, consistently with his principles, he 
supported therein an enlarged popular 
representation, manhood suffrage and 
generous qualifications for naturalization. 
In 1790, he was elected to the State As- 
sembly from Fayette county and was re- 
elected unanimously in 1791 and 1792. 
Therein, although uniformly in a partisan 
minority, he acquired an extraordinary 
control. He was diligent in committee 
labors and persuasive in debate, favor- 
ing revision and betterment of the educa- 
tional system and liberal internal im- 
provements, but eminently distinguish- 
ing himself by his report from the com- 
mittee on ways and means, in which the 
policy of the immediate reimbursement 
and extinction of the State paper money, 
the payment in specie of all current ex- 
penses and provision for discharging 
every debt and engagement previously 
recognized by the State, was distinctly- 
set forth and fundamental principles, 
which he subsequently acted upon, as 
Secretary of the United States Treasury, 
were lucidly declared. It was in pur- 
suance of this policy that the State, with 
the proceeds of its allotted portion of the 
public funds and investments in the Bank 
of Pennsylvania and other dividend pay- 
ing institutions was enabled to meet all 
expenses of government, without any 
direct tax, for the ensuing forty years. 
Gallatin's reputation as an accomplished 
financier was thus not only established 
in his own State, but enhanced nationally. 
As an indication of the esteem in which, 
superior to all partisan considerations, 
he was held, was his election to the 
United States Senate, February 28, 1793, 



48 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



by a Federalist legislature, the vote being 
forty-five in his favor as against thirty- 
seven for a distinctively Federalist can- 
didate. Mr. Gallatin took his seat De- 
cember 2, but the point was at once raised 
that he was ineligible, not having been 
nine years a citizen of the United States 
— a constitutional requirement. It was 
contended by the Anti-Federalist senators 
that his citizenship inhered with his ar- 
rival in Massachusetts in 1780, while the 
Federalists insisted that it did not begin 
until he took the oath of allegiance in 
1785. The question was a close one, even 
Gallatin having doubts of his eligibility, 
and he was unseated February 28, 1794, 
precisely a year from his election, by a 
strict party vote — fourteen to twelve — 
even Robert Morris, his colleague, warm 
personal friend and substantially in ac- 
cord with his financial views, being 
dragooned into opposition to him. It is 
clear that the impulse of the vote was 
purely political. Gallatin, however, was 
in the Senate long enough to show his 
mettle — to harass the Federalist leaders 
by his resolutions and speeches and to 
prove that he would be a formidable critic 
of Federalist policies were he allowed to 
lemain ; and the Federalists badly needed 
one vote to assure their stable ascend- 
ency. Gallatin accepted his exclusion in 
good temper and endeared Pennsylvania 
Republicans to him as a martyr to their 
principles as well as made his quality 
more widely known throughout the coun- 
try. On November 11, 1793, he married 
Hannah, daughter of Commodore James 
Nicholson, famous in naval annals. He 
describes her as "a girl about twenty-five 
years old, who is neither handsome nor 
rich, but sensible, well-informed, good- 
natured and belonging to a respectable 
and very amiable family" — a tribute too 
modest to reveal her intellectual bright- 
ness and social charm. She notably 
graced the "White House" regime of Mrs. 
N Y-Voi 1-4 49 



Madison and was hardly inferior in en- 
gaging manners and consummate tact to 
that captivating "first lady of the land." 
She was his faithful companion for more 
than a half century, essentially helpful 
to him throughout his career, her death 
preceding his by a few months. 

In 1794, during the recess of Congress, 
the disturbances known as the "Whiskey 
Insurrection," with which Gallatin's name 
is associated, broke out in Western Penn- 
sylvania. It was marked by gross out- 
rages upon persons and property and 
armed collisions between Federal officials 
and inflamed mobs, with maiming and 
killing by each. Sympathizing with the 
sentiment of the region, adverse to the 
excise law, but encouraging none of its 
overt acts, Gallatin opposed earnestly the 
movement "to call forth the resources of 
the western country to repel any hostile 
attempts that may be made against the 
rights of the citizens." President Wash- 
ington, wise in tempering force with con- 
ciliation, made requisitions upon the gov- 
ernors of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Vir- 
ginia and New Jersey for troops — 15,000 
— to quell the insurrection, and consti- 
tuted a joint commission of conference — 
three appointed by the president and two 
by Pennsylvania. Gallatin was one of the 
local committee to confer with the com- 
mission and before it and, in many popu- 
lar gatherings, denied that resistance to 
the law was legal or that government co- 
ercion was necessarily subversive of the 
people's rights. Results — not a hostile 
gun was fired by the militia ; indictments 
were found against offenders, convictions 
secured ; and pardons were granted to 
those condemned to death. Thus ended 
the revolt at one time ominous of civil 
war. Gallatin's course has sometimes 
been misrepresented grievouslv, as pro- 
vocative of further bloodshed ; but the 
truth of history is as here related. The 
accommodation effected was largely due 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



to his tact, courage and firmness, at con- 
siderable risk to himself. So highly were 
his services in the cause of order regarded 
that the good citizens of the Congres- 
sional district contiguous to his own, 
nominated him as representative and 
elected him over the regular candidates of 
both political parties ; and he was twice 
re-elected from the same district. 

He took his seat, December 7, 1795 ; he 
relinquished it, March 4, 1801. His ser- 
vice was at once brilliant and forceful. 
Upon the floor, he went immediately to 
the front, perhaps, because of the paucity 
of talent on the Republican side, the Fed- 
eralists, including Fisher Ames, Robert 
Goodloe Harper, Theodore Sedgwick and 
Uriah Tracy, being exceedingly strong in 
that regard. In the Fourth Congress 
(Gallatin's first) Madison remained the 
Republican leader; but, upon his retire- 
ment at its close, Gallatin became un- 
questionably the head of his party there- 
in and so continued. Almost uniformly 
in the minority, he was ex-necessitate 
critic, rather than constructor, although, 
as opportunity oflfered, he disclosed ster- 
ling initiative capacity, as witness that, 
upon his motion, the committee on ways 
and means, by far the ranking committee 
of the house, was organized He partici- 
pated in nearly every important debate, 
his favorite topics being those relating to 
the finances. He opposed strenuously the 
carrying out of the Jay treaty and made 
telling speeches on "Foreign Intercourse" 
the "Alien Law" and the "Navy Es- 
tablishment." He also explained his 
financial views in two pamphlets — "A 
Sketch of Finances" (1796) and "Views 
of Public Debt," etc., (1810). "In his 
first term he asserted his power and took 
his place in the councils of the party; in 
the second, he became its acknowledged 
leader ; in the third, he led its forces to 
final victory." (Stevens's "Gallatin"). And 
by his adroitness and wisdom, as a politi- 



cian, he became one of the triumvirate — 
Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin — which 
ruled the country for sixteen years. 

Upon the accession of Jeflferson to the 
presidency, he tendered the treasury port- 
folio to Gallatin, recognizing thereby his 
political obligations and Gallatin's quali- 
fications for the place ; public opinion, 
save for an undertone of Federalist 
spleen, concurring in the eminent pro- 
priety of the preferment. Gallatin ac- 
cepted and retained the post for over 
twelve years — through both of Jefferson's 
and the first of Madison's terms. Never 
has high appointment been more splen- 
didly vindicated that in Albert Gallatin's 
case. History records him as one of three 
great secretaries of the treasury, the 
others being Hamilton and Chase. In- 
deed, he stands among the illustrious 
financiers of all times, with Frederick the 
Great, Colbert and the younger Pitt. No 
one ever better deserved the epithet of 
"thorough," searching, as he did, until he 
found the principle of every measure 
with which he had concern and under- 
stood every detail of its operation. The 
one cardinal rule that he laid down was 
the extinguishment of the public debt, 
which he actually reduced from nearly 
$80,000,000, in 1802, to $53,000,000 in 
1810, notwithstanding the increase of 
$15,000,000, in 1803, by the purchase of 
Louisiana. His report for the fiscal year, 
ending September 30, 1812, showed an 
excess of receipts over expenditures of 
$2,361,652.69 and, when war was on, of 
which it has been well said that its neces- 
sities take no heed of economic principles, 
he negotiated a loan, principally from the 
three millionaires, Parrish, Gerard and 
Astor, of $16,000,000 to meet the exi- 
gency. Throughout his administration, 
he emphasized the proposition that debt 
can only be reduced by a surplus of 
revenue over expenditure and by his 
leading this remains a fundamental in the 



50 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



American financial creed. At the time 
an opportunist, like Hamilton he graded 
imposts according to existing conditions, 
although, in later years, he avowed him- 
self a Free Trader. He steadfastly up- 
held the Bank of the United States against 
the assaults of a Republican Congress 
and its refusal, in 191 1, of a recharter 
when the institution was returning large 
dividends to stockholders and had demon- 
strated its usefulness as the fiscal agent 
of the government. He systematized the 
disposal of the public lands and was a 
zealous advocate of internal improve- 
ments, particularly of the national road 
and the coast survey. His annual reports 
were models of information, perspicuity 
and frankness. His relations to both 
presidents, especially JefTerson, were of 
the most intimate character and he exert- 
ed marked influence upon the politics of 
the country, as before mentioned. 

In the spring of 1813, Gallatin's diplo- 
matic career began ; it ended in the fall 
of 1827. It included a mission to Russia 
incident to the proposed mediation of the 
Czar between the United States and 
Great Britain, declined by the latter 
(1813) ; membership in the commission, 
in which John Quincy Adams, James A. 
Bayard, Henry Clay and Jonathan Rus- 
sell were his colleagues, to treat for peace 
at Ghent (1814) ; minister to France 
(1816-23) ; envoy extraordinary to Great 
Britain (1826-27), and special missions to 
the Netherlands (1817) and England 
(1818). With the principal governments 
named he negotiated several important 
commercial conventions, and fortified the 
integrity of the "Monroe doctrine"; but 
his signal achievement and by which he 
won imperishable laurels was in the part 
he played in the consummation of the 
treaty of Ghent. To his sagacity and 
address, more than to the conduct of any 
other of the American commissioners, is 
accorded the credit of that pact, which has 



guaranteed the friendship of the two 
great Anglo-Saxon races for the century 
past. His pre-eminent genius was widely 
recognized among European diplomats at 
the time. Especially gratifying to him 
were the honors paid him in Geneva, as 
one who had shed lustre on his native 
city. His fame still obtains as one of the 
most accomplished representatives of the 
republic abroad, rivalling that of his ex- 
ploits in the treasury department. 

On his return to this country, he found 
his estate, far from satisfactory, although 
he had never thirsted for inordinate 
wealth. His land speculations had not 
been profitable. He was possessed only 
of the Monongahela farm, some patents 
for wild lands in various states and less 
than $12,000 of personal property. This 
with the fact that the isolation of Friend- 
ship Hill was uncomfortable to his fam- 
ily, used to the highest society of Wash- 
ingfton and European capitals, and even 
to himself, he settled permanently in New 
York in 1828, when he was sixty-seven 
years of age and in 1832 accepted the 
presidency of the National Bank of New 
York, at the instance of John Jacob Astor, 
who subscribed for its stock only on the 
condition that Gallatin should manage its 
affairs. 

Domiciled in New York, the years ran 
busily on for him, brisk in body and keen 
in his faculties. In several respects this 
was the most interesting period of his life. 
He kept in intimate touch with politics, 
though not engaged in them actively ; 
and was consulted frequently by those 
high in authority, especially by Van 
Buren. In 1843, he declined Tyler's 
tender of the Secretaryship of the Treas- 
ury, regarding it a piece of folly on the 
president's part, an acceptance of which 
would be an act of insanity at his age. 
He gave much time to the framing of an 
argument for the information of the King 
of the Netherlands, the arbiter on the 



51 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



northeastern boundary, disputed by Great 
Britain ; and, in 1839, published an 
elaborate statement of the facts in the 
case. In 1831, as deputed by the Phila- 
delphia Convention of Free Traders, he 
drafted the memorial to Congress pray- 
ing for a reduction of imposts to the mini- 
mum. In 1844, he presided at a meeting 
in New York to protest against the an- 
nexation of Texas — his last public appear- 
ance — and, later, condemned the war 
with Mexico as the "only blot upon the 
escutcheon of the United States." In 
1837, he furnished Baron von Humboldt 
copious data bearing upon the produc- 
tion of gold. In 1838, he declined the 
presidency of the Bank of Commerce. In 
1839, he resigned that of the National 
Bank, having previously led in the re- 
sumption of specie payments, succeeding 
the crash of 1837. In 1849, he published 
his last financial pamphlet, entitled "Sug- 
gestions on the Banks and Currency of 
the United States," pronouncing paper 
money an artificial stimulus tending to 
eventuate in an irredeemable medium. 

Throughout, he was devoted to scien- 
tific studies and lettered and philan- 
thropic promotions. In 1834, he inter- 
ested himself in providing for Polish 
refugees, raising funds for their benefit 
and securing from Congress a tract in 
Illinois for their settlement. An indus- 
trious student of the problems relating 
to the Indian races of North America, he 
wrote many scholarly papers pertaining 
to their origin, character and vocabularies. 
In 1842, he founded the American Ethno- 
logical Society contributing liberally to 
its maintenance both by pecuniary gifts 
and valuable essays to its "Transactions." 
In 1830, he was instrumental in estab- 
lishing New York University and presi- 
dent of its first council, severing his con- 
nection, however, within the year, be- 
cause its narrow control, in his regard, 
did not conform to his ideal of "a general 



system of a rational and practical educa- 
tion fitted for and gratuitously opened to 
all" — an American Sorbonne. In 1843, 
he was chosen president of the New York 
Historical Society and so remained until 
his death which occurred at Mount Bona- 
parte, the country seat of his son-in-law 
at Astoria, August 12, 1849. His body 
rests in the Nicholson vault in Trinity 
churchyard. 

Gallatin was about five feet ten inches 
in height, of compact form. As he ap- 
pears, in middle age, in Gilbert Stuart's 
portrait of him "his complexion is Italian ; 
his expression keen ; his nose long, promi- 
nent ; his mouth small, fine-cut and mo- 
bile ; his eyes hazel and penetrative ; his 
skull a model for the sculptor." In the 
portrait by William H. Powell, from life 
in 1843 and hung in the gallery of the 
New York Historical Society, these 
characteristic are revealed in stronger 
outline. 



KENT, James,* 

Jurist, Legal Commentator. 

The career of Chancellor Kent is per- 
haps the most signal example of success 
achieved in a profession by one to whom 
its practice was distasteful, not to say 
nauseating or irksome, and there is as- 
suredly no single practitioner in the coun- 
try who has laid the profession under 
greater obligations by a lifetime conse- 
crated, as it was, to the acquisition of the 
principles underlying law and to their 
systematic and masterly exposition. The 
study of the law was the choice of his 
youth ; its practice was the occupation of 
his manhood ; its exposition from the 
bench, in the classroom and the printed 
page, was alike the glory and consolation 
of full maturity and of declining years. 



•Abridfjed with sligrht Interpolations from arti- 
cle In "Great American Lawyers." Vol. 11, by 
James Brown Scott, J. U. D. By consent of 
author, for which sincere thanks. — Ed. 



52 




JAMES KENT 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



He was of pure New England descent ; 
but belongs to New York. It was the 
scene of his labors and the object of his 
affection. He was born in Philippi, Put- 
nam — then Dutchess — county, July 31, 
1763, and died in New York, December 
12, 1847. ■'^s grandfather and father, the 
one an estimable clergyman of the Pres- 
byterian school, the other a lawyer, were 
graduates of Yale College, it was natural 
that he should be sent thither for his edu- 
cation. He entered that institution in 
1777, and was graduated in 1781. He was 
the youngest of the class and the pecu- 
liar characteristics of his mind were then 
sufficiently marked to be noted. In the 
language of a classmate: "In history, in 
the belles-lettres studies, and in reading 
generally, he excelled them all. His at- 
tention to what he read was strict and 
his memory was uncommonly retentive. 
It was the common remark of his com- 
panions that they could generally tell the 
author he last read by the style and man- 
ner of his last composition." 

The taste for literature, a feeling for 
style and a retentive memory character- 
ized the man throughout life, and the list 
of works read, which his admirable biog- 
rapher prints in various portions of the 
memoirs ("Memoirs and Letters of Chan- 
cellor Kent," by his great-grandson, Wil- 
liam Kent, Esq., of the New York bar) 
are simply astounding. But these things 
in themselves, at once an accomplishment 
and a passion, do not account for his 
greatness. They adorned a mind which 
they did not and could not create ; and 
they added learning and refinement to 
a native strength of intellect. 

In 1781, Kent entered the office of Eg- 
bert Benson, then Attorney-General of the 
State. It appears that the young student 
grounded himself, not merely in the 
principles of the common law, but that he 
learned those principles in their historical 
development. The law was grasped as a 



system and the history of the law, so nec- 
essary to its thorough knowledge, was 
acquired in early life. Hale and Black- 
stone were mastered. International law, 
the Common Law, and its history formed 
a part of his original equipment and it is 
not too much to say that the influence 
of these works is traceable throughout 
his entire career. Blackstone furnished 
the model for his Commentaries and the 
superb disquisition on the law of nations 
with which Kent prefaces the American 
Commentaries, is not only admirable and 
authoritative, but is the first original 
treatment in the English language of the 
law of nations. 

After four years of earnest study — in- 
deed he calls himself "the most modest, 
steady, industrious student that such a 
place ever saw" — he was admitted to the 
bar and began practice in Poughkeepsie, 
removing to New York City in 1793. 
From Dutchess county he was sent to the 
Assembly in 1791 and 1792 and from 
New York in 1796. He was a Federalist, 
if not by birth, from study, connection and 
association ; with frank and fearless 
enunciation of his party principles, espe- 
cially when, as a member of the Consti- 
tutional Convention of 1821, he resisted 
resolutely, if vainly, what he regarded as 
encroachments of democracy upon the 
organic law, holding with Jay that "they 
who own the country ought to govern it." 
He owed to Hamilton his political inspira- 
tion and to Jay his elevation to the bench. 
In 1793, he was a candidate for Congress 
in the Dutchess district but was defeated, 
which disappointment partially accounts 
for his change of residence; but he was 
never a politician in the popular sense of 
the word. The law was his mistress. His 
practice does not seem to have been very 
remunerative, although his erudition was 
universally acknowledged. In December, 
1793, he accepted a professorship of law 
in Columbia College ; was appointed 



53 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



master in chancery in 1796, and recorder 
of New York City in 1797. In 1798, he 
became an Associate Judge of the Su- 
preme Court ; in 1804, its Chief-Justice ; 
and, in 1814, Chancellor, retiring from 
the bench in 1823 because of the age 
limitation, then at sixty years. 

The work of Kent from his accession 
to the bench in 1798 to his death in 1847 
divides itself into two periods— the one 
that of exposition of and the other that of 
comment on law. It was, with his advent 
to the Supreme Court that its usefulness 
became more widely apparent through 
the medium of the reporters. The forma- 
tive period of the Supreme Court during 
which it exercised its greatest influence 
on the particular jurisprudence of this 
State, was during the judgeships of Kent 
and his immediate successors. Then it 
was that many principles were settled and 
that fluctuating theories gave place to 
fixed and determinate rules embraced in 
leading cases. When he resigned, it had 
been raised to a position of great dignity 
and influence and commanded, as it de- 
served, the respect of State and nation 
alike. But great as were his services to 
the common law, the}' were as nothing 
compared to his services to chancery, and 
it is not without reason that Story refers 
to Kent as the perfector, if not the father, 
of American equity: 

Even in the State of New York, whose rank in 
jurisprudence has never been second to that of 
any other State in the Union (if it has not been 
first among its peers) equity was scarcely felt in 
the general administration of justice, until about 
the period of the Reports of Caines and of 
Johnson. And, perhaps, it is not too much to 
say, that it did not attain its full maturity and 
masculine vigor, until Mr. Chancellor Kent 
brought it to the fulness of his own extraordi- 
nary learning, unconquerable diligence and bril- 
liant talents. 

The equity he sought and found was 
not merely the equitv of a well-trained 



mind whose mainspring was a love of 
abstract justice applied to the concrete 
case. It was the Equity of English Chan- 
cery adapted to the wants and ways of 
the western world. 

During his twenty-five years of judicial 
life he resided in Albany. Reinoved, 
rather than released, from office, he re- 
turned to New York to take up again 
the care, and in his case the burden, of 
professional life. A book-lover must 
needs have a fortune and a large part of 
his salary found its way to his library. 
Whether he would or not, he must add 
to his savings. He therefore reopened his 
law office and busied himself with an 
ample chamber practice. Once again the 
rcsponsa l^rudcntino came to honor in the 
world, and the trustees of Columbia Col- 
lege appointed him to the Chair of Law 
which had remained vacant since his 
resignation in 1797. The chamber prac- 
tice of the retired Chancellor olTers little 
of interest ; not so the professorate. The 
door of the classroom opened upon im- 
mortality. The "Commentaries" had their 
beginning in the lectures delivered so 
early as 1793; they were repeated at var- 
ious sessions, until his withdrawal in 
1798, when they were consigned to his 
desk. With mistaken modesty he -char- 
acterized them as "slight and trashy pro- 
ductions" ; but they were neither and were 
the basis of his justly celebrated works. 
When he unrolled his manuscript, twenty- 
five years later, he did so with no little 
foreboding, but as revised and completed 
they met, upon delivery, instant, assured 
and continuous success. In 1826, the 
first volume was sent to the press, addi- 
tional volumes appearing in 1827, 1828 
and 1830 respectively. The first volume 
considers international law, the govern- 
ment and constitutional jurisprudence of 
the United States and Municipal Law. 
The second treats of the law concerning 
the rights of persons and of personal 



54 




.r*. .*^ Jf^/^^-i- AO 




GtNtR'VL STEIPMtt^J VArj 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



property, which latter subject occupies 
the greater portion of the third volume. 
Completing this important and technical 
subject, the learned author devotes the 
balance of the volume and the whole of 
the fourth to a careful and detailed pre- 
sentation of the law of real property in 
its infinite variety and extent. 

Four editions of the work appeared 
within the life time of the Chancellor. 
In the course of eighty years, it has run 
through at least fourteen editions and the 
day of its usefulness has not yet passed. 
The reasons for this continued and sus- 
tained popularity are not hard to find. 
A broad and comprehensive, yet scien- 
tific and detailed, survey of the substan- 
tive law of the courts, with the exception 
of criminal law, was given for the first 
time. This of itself would have been a 
boon to the profession and the work 
would have taken its place among books 
of reference. New editions would have 
kept it alive as long as the author lived, 
but with his death the book doubtless 
would have followed him to the grave. 
Tha*^ the work survived him and will sur- 
vive for many a day is due to its accuracy 
and comprehensiveness ; the symmetry of 
its parts, the philosophic and measured 
calm, combined with a profound learning 
and a charm of style that suggests, while 
it distances, Blackstone, the English 
model. Kent was from boyhood a lover 
of English, and he acquired by practice, 
as well as from native feeling, a style ad- 
mirably adapted to the expression of his 
thought, at once sufificiently technical for 
the lawyer and attractive to the student 
and layman. 

If now we remember that Kent shone 
with a strong, if not an equal, light, in 
four fields of judicial activity, and that 
he is scarcely inferior in any one to the 
specialist, it necessarily follows that his 
versatility gives him an added claim to 
reverent admiration. The rare poise and 



balance are not less marked than the solid- 
ity and breadth of attainment. If to this 
rounded, universal and almost perfect 
equipment, we add the ever-present and 
continuous claim of expounder of our 
law, the conclusion seems well nigh in- 
evitable that Kent rightly assumes his 
place as the first figure in American juris- 
prudence. 



VAN RENSSELAER, Stephen, 

Patroon, Statesman, Philanthropiat. 

Of all the great manorial estates of pro- 
vincial New York, with charters granted 
by the Dutch West India Company and 
confirmed by patents from the Duke of 
York, that of Rensielaerwyck was the 
most extensive, important and powerful. 
Its domain, twenty-four miles in breadth 
and forty-eight in length, on either bank 
of the Hudson, extended from the vicinity 
of Fort Orange (Albany) over the greater 
part of Albany, Rensselaer and Colum- 
bia counties. It was colonially establish- 
ed, in 1630, by Killian Van Rensselaer, a 
wealthy pearl merchant of Amsterdam, a 
man of extraordinary sagacity and enter- 
prise, when the sails of the Zuyder Zee 
whitened every ocean and fluttered in 
every zone. 

It was, under Dutch regime, while ac- 
knowledging formal allegiance to the 
States-General, a principality — impentim 
ill impcrio — with feudal prerogatives in- 
hering in the over-lord or Patroon — a little 
identical with that of the Roman Patron- 
us. a patrician, who had certain of the 
people under his oversight and for whose 
welfare he provided. He maintained 
military and judicial authority within his 
territory. His subjects, some freeholders 
but the majority simply tenants, swore 
fealty to him and he flew his own flag as 
the ensign of his sovereignty. He build- 
ed and garrisoned forts and enlisted 
troops to repel Indian forays, although. 



55 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



for the most part, he kept peace with the 
tribes; as well as to resist invasion of his 
commercial or political rights by the Com- 
pany or the Directors-General which, at 
times, approached perilously near to 
armed conflicts. He administered civil 
and criminal justice in his own courts, his 
decision being amenable to review by the 
provincial tribunals only in the highest 
cases. Under the English royal charter 
of 1685, Rensselaerwyck was resolved into 
a Lordship or Manor, with certain para- 
phernalia of feudal government retained, 
but with the muniments of the manorial 
order established, including the provision 
that tenants could be called to answer 
for high crimes only in the Colonial 
courts, and with representation in the 
Colonial Assembly, by freehold election. 
Such representation, as a matter of fact, 
was uniformly held either by the Patroon, 
or one of his family, until the outbreak of 
the Revolution, and that with consistent 
fidelity to popular rights against guberna- 
torial or parliamentary exactions and, as 
the revolt from the crown became immi- 
nent, with earnest adherence to the pa- 
triot cause, Abraham Ten Broeck, the 
uncle and guardian of Stephen Van Rens- 
selaer during his long minority, being 
especially distinguished in that regard. 

To this splendid estate, with its reve- 
nues, dignities, and renown, but with 
political rights and privileges in the newly 
organized state not exceeding those of his 
freehold tenantry, the second Stephen 
Van Rensselaer, the last Patroon, and 
fifth in descent from the original proprie- 
tor, succeeded at his majority, in 1785, the 
occasion being observed as a festival by 
his tenants, to whom he was known as a 
youth of genuine promise and gracious 
disposition and with whom he had already 
formed amicable relations. He was born, 
November i, 1764, in the city of New 
York, the son of Stephen Van Rensselaer, 
the fourth Patroon, and of Catharine, the 



daughter of Philip Livingston, a signer 
of the Declaration and an ardent patriot. 
His earliest years were passed under the 
eyes of his mother, a kind and godly 
gentlewoman ; but upon her marriage to 
the Rev. Dr. Eliardus Westerlo, pastor of 
the North Dutch Church, Albany, he 
passed much of his minority under the 
roof and guidance of his grandfather Liv- 
ingston. By him, Stephen was, after his 
"horn book" days were over, placed in a 
school at Elizabethtown, New Jersey ; but 
Livingston and his family being driven 
from New York, then under British occu- 
pation, sought refuge in Kingston, where 
fortunately there was a classical school, 
or academy, of which John Addison, a 
Scotchman of accomplished scholarship, 
and later a State Senator, was principal. 
Therein Stephen acquired his preparatory 
classical training and entered Princeton 
College in 1779; but that institution was 
still in troublous circumstances, amidst 
war alarms, and, a year later, he changed 
to Harvard, from which he was gradu- 
ated, in 1782, with honorable standing, 
not yet being nineteen years of age. Re- 
turning to Albany he fitted himself for 
the administration of his estate, still un- 
der the supervision of Ten Broeck ; and 
before he was twenty, married Margaret, 
the third of the many daughters of Gen- 
eral Philip Schuyler. Two years pre- 
viously, Alexander Hamilton had married 
Elizabeth, the second daughter ; and thus 
inspired by family ties— the Livingstons, 
Schuylers and Hamiltons — by Revolu- 
tionary associations and memories and, 
withal, doubtless, by hereditary patrician 
inclination, he was, from the first, a Feder- 
alist politically. He took his bride to the 
Westerlo parsonage, his mother, for the 
time being, abiding at the Manor-house ; 
but an exchange was made, and at his 
coming of age, he possessed the ances- 
tral home for more than forty years — a 
celebrated land mark on the Troy road. 



S6 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



built in 1765. His wife dying in early 
womanhood, one son surviving her, he 
wedded, in 1802, Cornelia, only daughter 
of William Patterson, a justice of the 
United States Supreme Court. This was 
a rarely tender and helpful union, both 
being cultured and refined, patterns of 
domestic virtues, of earnest religious con- 
victions, and members of the Dutch 
church. Their issue was six sons and 
three daughters. 

In tracing the career of Stephen Van 
Rensselaer it is seen to be one of unvary- 
ing honor and usefulness ; of many offices, 
unsolicited but consecrated to the public 
weal and courageously, wisely and worth- 
ily discharged. If not brilliant with 
flashes of eloquence or dazzling deeds, 
its character was of constant luster — of 
"purest ray serene." Upon engaging in his 
life's activities, his first attention was 
given to the affairs of his estate. But a 
small portion of it had as yet been con- 
verted into farms and much of it was 
awaiting settlement. By offering leases 
in fee or for long terms, at a low rental — 
sometimes hardly more than nominal, he 
brought a large part under cultivation, 
thus enhancing its value, stimulating its 
peopling and securing to himself a com- 
petent income, although it is estimated 
that rentals did not exceed two per cent, 
of appraisement. This policy, at once 
sagacious and generous, was pursued con- 
sistently; and when the Anti-Rent 
troubles culminated, his temper was that 
of conciliation with and not of antago- 
ism to his tenants. He did not aim at 
inordinate wealth, nor indulge either in 
speculations or ostentatious display, while 
his charities were seemly and abundant. 
Public preferment sought him at once. 
His first essay in politcs, however, re- 
fulted in defeat. He was presented by 
the Federalists for member of Assembly, 
in 1788. At the time, Albany was the 
hot-bed of hostility to the ratification 



of the federal constitution. There lived 
Robert Yates and John Lansing Jr. who, 
as delegates to the Philadelphia Conven- 
tion, had bitterly assailed and refused to 
sign that instrument ; and there too was 
Governor George Clinton, its most deter- 
mined opponent; and, this sentiment pre- 
vailing, the P'ederalist ticket was over- 
whelmed at the polls, including Van Rens- 
selaer, despite the personal popularity he 
had already attained ; but, the next year, 
animosity agamst the ratified constitu- 
tion having sensibly abated, he was re- 
turned to the Assembly by a majority 
nearly as large as that by which he had 
previously been overcome. Thenceforth, 
he never failed of a majority in Albany 
county for any positon for which he was 
named. From 1792 until 1796, he was a 
Senator from the western district and in 
1792 was one of the Council of Appoint- 
ment. As a Senator, he was conspicu- 
ously faithful, vigilant and influential. In 
1795, he was, with Jay as governor, elect- 
ed lieutenant-governor and, in 1798, was 
re-elected, both parties, in the latter in- 
stance, concurring therein, although 
Chancellor Livingston, his relative, was 
the candidate against Jay for a second 
term. For six years, he presided over the 
Senate, with dignity and impartiality, and 
earnestly supported Jay's pure and ad- 
mirable administration. 

In 1801, the jubilee year of the Re- 
publicans, Van Rensselaer was the un- 
successful candidate for governor of 
many of the most respectable freeholders, 
irrespective of party and of the dispirited 
Federalists, Governor Clinton, summoned 
from his retirement, being pitted against 
him. Clinton's majority, however, was a 
meager one, still attesting the personal 
])opularity of the lieutenant-governor. 
In the same year, the latter was a dele- 
gate to the Constitutional Convention, 
with functions limited to th'e construction 
of two specified articles. From 1808 until 



57 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



i8io, Van Rensselaer was a member of 
Assembly. Upon the declaration of war 
with Great Britain, Governor Tompkins, 
obeying the requisition of the general 
government, selected Van Rensselaer, al- 
ready a major-general of militia, to com- 
mand the state quota on the northern 
frontier in co-operation with the federal 
forces under General Dearborn. The 
governor's motives in making this assign- 
ment were seriously questioned. The 
Federalists were, as a whole, inimical to 
the war, although Van Rensselaer was 
not in sympathy with them, but he was 
their prospective candidate for governor. 
It was intimated that Tompkins was will- 
ing to place him in an embarrassing posi- 
tion in order to mar his political fortunes. 
Be this as it may ; the general, as un- 
selfishly as patriotically, accepted the ap- 
pointment, attended with much hazard 
to his military as well as civic reputation ; 
for his troops were ill-equipped, ill-dis- 
ciplined and inclined to insubordination. 
With poor material, however, he did ex- 
cellent work in organization and cam- 
paign, carrying dismay into the enemy's 
camp and planting the American flag on 
the heights of Queenstown, but forced to 
retire, owing partly to Dearborn's hesi- 
tation but more to shameful cowardice 
and desertion in his own ranks. He tend- 
ered his resignation, but his bearing in 
the field was highly meritorious and, the 
closer it is examined, the worthier it ap- 
pears. His case, in several respects, 
parallels that of Schuyler in the Revolu- 
tion. Both suffered from cabal and 
calumny, but each was unscathed in char- 
acter by the ordeal through which he 
passed, and stands vindicated historically. 
Van Rensselaer became, as has been 
premised, the nominee for governor in 
1813, but misjudged reflections upon his 
military conduct, the unfortunate atti- 
tude of his party and the predominant 



approval of Tompkins's policies con- 
spired in the latter's third election. 

In 1817 Van Rensselaer was again 
elected to the Assembly by his ever faith- 
ful Albany constituency; and, in its ses- 
sion, devoted himself principally to fur- 
thering the internal improvements of the 
State, with which he was long most hon- 
orably and persuasively identified. In 
1816, having previously been a member 
for several years of the commission to 
make surveys and consider plans relating 
to inland navigation and procuring the 
first appropriation therefor, he was the 
first named of the Board of Canal Com- 
missioners and was its president from 
1824 until his death, wise in council and 
indefatigable in labor. In 1820 he was 
made president of the State Board of 
Agriculture, the life of which was of short 
duration, but long enough to assure the 
value of legislative encouragement of the 
agricultural interests — the forerunner of 
the capable agricultural schools and ex- 
periment stations of the present day. In 
i8ig he was elected a regent of the uni- 
versity and was chancellor from 1835 
onwards, thus prominently promoting 
higher and secondary education in the 
State and in 1824 erecting his own proud- 
est monument in the foundation of the 
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute which is 
today one of the great scientific institu- 
tions of the land, and upon which, it may 
be properly interjected, Mrs. Russell Sage 
has bestowed recently unstinted largess. 
The endowments of General Van Rensse- 
laer in buildings and equipments were on 
a liberal scale and he added to these a pro- 
vision for free scholarships, by counties, 
of which hundreds were to avail them- 
selves. Barnard notes that, by 1839, the 
Institute had graduated more experimen- 
tal teachers and professors, State geolo- 
gists, engineers on public works and prac- 
tical chemists and naturalists than had 



58 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



been educated, in the same time, by all 
the colleges in the Union. In recognition 
of his signal service to advanced educa- 
tion, Yale College, in 1825 conferred upon 
him the degree of Doctor of Laws ; and he 
was made an honorary member of many 
learned associations at home and abroad. 
He was the president of the Albany In- 
stitute from its organization, in 1824, until 
his death. 

In 1821, he was a delegate to the Con- 
stitutional Convention, influential in its 
deliberations, but not in accord with its 
majority in democratizing the organic 
law. In 1825, he took his seat in the 
Seventeenth Congress and continued in 
that body for three successive terms. 
During his whole mcumbency, he was 
chairman of the Committee on Agricul- 
ture, making several noteworthy reports 
in connection therewith ; and, although 
rarely participating in the debates of the 
House, was respectfully deferred to by 
his colleagues on all important measures, 
as he had been in all official bodies with 
which he was associated. In his first 
term he became, by force of circum- 
stances, the central figure of a most 
memorable occasion in American history. 
Its setting was dramatic, its import mo- 
mentous ; its issue critical. This was the 
election by the House of Representatives 
of a president of the United States, the 
result depending upon New York, as it 
has, several times, been so dependent up- 
on the popular suffrage of this pivotal 
State. Van Rensselaer's position had not 
as yet been clearly defined. He had main- 
tained his reserve, while Crawford and 
Adams had both claimed him. At last, 
on the morning of February 9, 1825, he 
walked leisurely into the Chamber and 
took his seat with the New York delega- 
tion. The galleries were packed with 
spectators and the areas thronged with 
dignitaries. Every representative, save 
one, was present. Due announcement 
was made by the speaker that the election 



must be confined to the three highest can- 
didates as returned by the electoral col- 
leges. The situation was tense as the roll 
was called and the ballots deposited by 
States, Daniel Webster and John Ran- 
dolph being the tellers. A prolonged con- 
test was expected, the friends of Crawford 
especially hoping that it would end in his 
choice ; but the first ballot was as sur- 
prising as decisive, Crawford had but four 
States; Jackson, seven; and Adams, thir- 
teen. Then it was known that Van Rens- 
selaer's vote had given New York — other- 
wise equally divided — to Adams, and New 
York had thus given the presidency to 
John Quincy Adams. 

After Van Rensselaer's retirement from 
Congress, he held no political place, un- 
less the canal commissionership be so re- 
garded ; but he faithfully served in the 
Board of Regents and other institutional 
capacities to the end. His life went peace- 
fully on in his elegant mansion, among 
its books and refinements and domestic 
duties and delights. He died at the Manor- 
house, January 26, 1S39. His funeral 
ceremonies were of simple yet affecting 
character. The cortege, with the casket 
borne on men's shoulders, with State 
officials, municipal authorities, military, 
Masonic and other fraternities and friends 
and neighbors, all on foot and in citizen's 
garb, moved, without music, from the old 
North Dutch Church to the family vault, 
near the Manor-house, wherein the body 
was deposited. Obituary discourses were 
pronounced subsequently by the Rev. 
Thomas E. Vermilye, D. D., pastor of the 
North Church, the Rev. William B. 
Sprague, of the Second Presbyterian, Al- 
bany, and the Rev. William Barlow, rec- 
tor of St. John's Church, Ogdensburg; 
and an appreciative and eloquent address 
en his life, services and character was de- 
livered by the Hon. Daniel D. Barnard 
before the Albany Institute. The press 
paid fitting tribute to his worth. His 
memory endureth. 



59 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



MITCHILL, Samuel L., 

Scientist, Author, Statesman. 

Samuel Latham Mitchill, D. D., LL. D., 
eminent in science and letters, honored in 
politics, encyclopedic in knowledge, the 
Admirable Crichton of his day, whom 
John Randolph called "the congressional 
library," and of whom citizens generally 
said that "tap the doctor at any time and 
he will flow," was born in North Hemp- 
stead, Queens county, August 20, 1764. 
He was of English descent, his father, 
Robert, being an industrious farmer, 
of the Society of Friends, who died 
in 1789, leaving six sons and two 
daughters respectably settled in life. 
Samuel was the third son, early giving 
evidence of bright mental gifts, and espe- 
cially of an observant faculty and marvel- 
ous memory, which served him faithfully 
during his life. His maternal uncle, 
Samuel Latham, after whom he was 
named, an excellent medical practitioner 
in his native village, took a deep interest 
in his education and aided him with 
means to .secure it. His classical studies, 
the equivalent of a college course, at the 
time, were pursued under an accomplish- 
ed scholar, Dr. Leonard Cutting; the 
elementary principles of medicine were 
acquired under the eye of his uncle; and 
these were supplemented by three years 
in the oflRce of Dr. Samuel Bard, then the 
leading physician in New York City; but, 
desirous of a fuller professional equip- 
ment, he entered the University of Edin- 
burgh, in 1783, from which institution he 
was graduated, with high honor, in 1786. 
He returned to New York, whither a 
reputation of brilliant promise had pre- 
ceded him, laden with stores of ])rofes- 
sional and general information to be wel- 
comed by many friends and admirers — a 
social lion and a lettered oracle. He was 
soon happily married and established his 
permanent residence in the city, fashion- 



ing also, in due time, a charming country 
seat at Plaudome on Long Island, where 
his summers were mainly passed. 

He opened a medical office and began 
practice, varying it with legal researches, 
particularly those relating to the constitu- 
tion and judicature of the newly created 
republic, under the direction of Robert 
Yates then the Chief-Justice of the Su- 
preme Court of the State, not with the 
view of being a lawyer, but rather to in- 
dex inquiries in the line indicated, among 
the multifarious specialties to which he 
addressed himself and in all of which he 
became a recognized authority. His legal 
investigations, however, were of signal 
advantage to him in the political field 
into which he was soon drawn by the 
prevalent respect for his character and 
ability; and this quite independent of any 
act upon his part to gain popularity, 
which he neither knew how, nor cared 
to, employ. Mitchill moved along the 
higher plane of politics. 

Fundamentally, Mitchill was a Repub- 
lican (Democrat) coming upon the stage 
of action in the period of "stress and 
storm" preceding the election of Jeffer- 
son to the presidency. Alexander, in his 
admirable "Political History of New 
York" says that "Mitchill belonged to the 
Republican party because it was the party 
of JefTerson and he followed Jefferson 
because Jefferson was a philosopher." 
This seems too sweeping a statement. 
Mitchill must be credited with being a 
Republican of his own volition, because 
he was himself a philosopher, reaching 
his conclusions by his own processes of 
thought; attracted to the Republican 
party because it was a party of logical 
deductions from foregone premises — the 
reverse of the "Opportunism" of Hamil- 
ton. Jefferson, indeed, formulated the 
Republican creed ; but Mitchill's mind 
was of that cast that looks beyond the 
creed to the reasons that shape it ; and 



60 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



it is more than probable that his sym- 
pathy, while abroad, with the initiatory 
phases of the French revolution, was not 
without influence upon his political in- 
clination, apart from, but not inconsistent 
with, his fealty to the founder of his party. 
At any rate, it is fair to assume that Mit- 
chill thought for himself. 

His tirst preferment, cannot, however, 
be considered as purely political. In 
1790, at the age of twenty-six, he was 
made one of the commissioners to treat 
with the Iroquois for the purchase of 
lands and as such fulfilled his duties in- 
telligently and equitably. His politcal 
career really begins in 1798 when he was 
elected as a Republican to the Assembly 
from Queens county. In 1801, he became 
a representative in Congress ; in 1804 was 
chosen United States Senator to succeed 
John Armstrong, his term expiring in 
1809; and he was then again elected to 
the House. He maintained throughout 
his allegiance to the Republican party, 
effectively supporting its policies, without 
frequent participation in political debates. 
His chief deliverances were upon scien- 
tific themes, which by their learning pro- 
foundly impressed the bodies to which 
he was accredited and secured beneficial 
legislation. In the Assembly he cham- 
pioned the repeal of the Act of 1789 giv- 
ing John Fitch the sole right to use 
steamboats on the Hudson and granting 
the same to Chancellor Livingston for a 
term of twenty years, under specified con- 
ditions and it was by virtue of this act that 
Fulton utilized his inventions. It is also 
related that "when the purchase of the 
Elgin Botanic Garden by the constituted 
authorities was argued at the cajntol, he 
rose in his place and won the attention of 
the members, by a speech of several hours' 
length, in which he gave a history of 
gardens, and the necessity for them, from 
the primitive one of our first parents 



down to the last institution of that naturci 
established by Roscoe at Liverpool. It 
is probable that no legislative body ever 
received more instruction in novel infor- 
mation than the eminent philosopher 
poured forth on that occasion." While 
he was in the Senate he was instrumental 
in eft'ecting the adoption of improved 
quarantine laws and in urging the lessen- 
ing of the duties on the importation of 
rags, in order to cheapen the manufacture 
of paper, the better to aid the diffusion 
of knowledge by the printing-press. 

But Dr. Mitchill's association with 
politics, honorable as it was, was episod- 
ical in his long and illustrious career as 
a savant. It was as such that his labors 
were manifold and prodigious. In the 
field of science he rendered his greatest 
service to humanity. He began the prac- 
tice of medicine, as has been said, but 
suspended it, save in consultation and 
hospital service, at an imperative call to 
teach rather than to practice. That call 
came to him in 1792, when he was twenty- 
eight years old and he was obedient to 
that behest for nearly forty years. In 
1792, when he was twenty-eight years old, 
he accepted the chair of chemistry, na- 
tural history and philosophy in Columbia 
College, retaining it for the next fifteen 
years. Upon the establishment of the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons 
(1807) he was appointed Professor of 
Chemistry therein, which he declined, but 
in the following year, assumed the chair 
of natural history and filled it until the 
reorganization of the college in 1820, 
when he was transferred to that of 
botany and materia medica, in which he 
continued until 1826, when he and the 
whole faculty resigned and the majority 
of them founded the Rutgers Medical 
School which had but a brief existence, 
Dr. Mitchill meanwhile acting as its vice- 
president. Of his capacity and success 



61 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



as a teacher Dr. John W. Francis, his 
colleague for nearly the whole of the 
period indicated, thus writes: 

His appearance before his class was that of an 
earnest instructor, ready to impart the stores of 
his accumulated wisdom for the benefit of his 
pupils, while his oral disquisitions were perpet- 
ually enlivened with novel and ingenious obser- 
vations. Chemistry, which first engaged his 
capacious mind, was rendered the more capti- 
vating by his endeavors to improve the nomen- 
clature of the French savants and to render the 
science subservient to the useful purposes of 
agriculture, art and hygiene. In treating of the 
materia medica, he delighted to dwell on the 
riches of our native products for the art of heal- 
ing and he sustained an enormous correspond- 
ence throughout the land, in order to add to his 
own practical observations the experience of the 
competent the better to prefer the claims of 
our indigenous products. As a physician of that 
renowned institution, the New York Hospital, 
he never omitted, when the opportunity pre- 
sented, to employ the results of his investiga- 
tions for clinical purposes. * * * But his 
great forte was natural history. Here his expo- 
sitions of that vast science, in its several rami- 
fications, gave the best proofs of his capacious 
stores of bookish wisdom and personal knowl- 
edge. He may fairly be pronounced the pioneer 
investigator of geological science among us, 
preceding McClure by several years. * * * 
His first course of lectures on natural history, 
including geology, mineralogy, ichthyology and 
botany was delivered, in extenso in the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons, in 1811, before a 
gratified audience, who recognized in the profes- 
sor a teacher of rare attainments and of singular 
tact in unfolding complex knowledge with ana- 
lytic power. Few left the lectures without the 
conviction that an able expositor had enlisted 
their attention. He, in fact, was a great teacher 
in that faculty which included Hosack, Post, 
Macneven and Mott. 

As a writer, Dr. Mitchill was as in- 
dustrious and versatile as he was enlight- 
ened. In 1797, he began, in conjunction 
with Dr. Edward Miller and Elihu H. 
Smith, the quarterly "Medical Reposi- 
tory," a journal of wide repute and the 
first scientific periodical published in the 



United States, of which he was the editor 
for sixteen years. He also contributed 
many articles to the "American Medical 
and Philosophical Register," the New 
York "Medical and Physical Journal," 
the "American Minerological Journal," 
the "Transactions of the Philadelphia So- 
ciety of Philadelphia" and several other 
periodicals as well as composed numerous 
addresses and papers included in the pro- 
ceedings of learned societies. He was the 
author of "Observations on the Absolvent 
Tubes of Animal Bodies" (1787) ; "No- 
menclature of the New Chemistry" 
(1794); "Present State of Learning in 
the College of New York" (1794) : "Life, 
Exploits and Precepts of Tammany, the 
famous Indian Chief," a half historical, 
half fanciful address before the Tam- 
many Society (1795) ; "Synopsis of 
Chemical Nomenclature and Arrange- 
ment," an elaborate report of a geological 
and mineralogical tour of the Hudson, 
incorporated in the "Transactions of the 
New York Literary and Philosophical 
Society" (1796) ; and various fugitive 
pieces upon scientific subjects. All this 
at a period when natural science was just 
dawning on the land. He has been pro- 
nounced aptly the Nestor of American 
science. Withal, he "courted the muses" 
and was a mellifluous versifier, if not a 
genuine poet. Specimens of his metrical 
talent are included in Duyckink's "Cy- 
clopedia of American Literature." Among 
his activities, he founded, in conjunction 
with Chancellor Livingston and Simeon 
De Witt, the Society for the Promotion 
of Agriculture. Manufactures and the 
Useful Arts ; co-operated in the creation 
of the United States Military Academy 
at West Point ; was active in the estab- 
lishment of the "Institution for the Deaf 
and Dumb," and prominent in the New 
York Historical Society. He aided and 
cheered Fulton in his experiments and 



62 




EDWARD LIVINGSTON 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



DeWitt Clinton in his prospects, and was 
an honored participant in the crowning 
triumph of each — on the "Clermont" as 
she steamed up the Hudson and on the 
"Star of the West" as she threaded the 
channel from the Erie to the Atlantic. By 
personal intercourse or correspondence he 
was familiar with the scholars and states- 
men of two continents and from learned 
institutions and associations was the re- 
cipient of parchment diplomas or medaled 
recognition. 

Thus, with certain innocent eccen- 
tricities of disposition and vagaries of 
conceit — mere spots upon the full-orbed 
sun — that need not be specified, he pass- 
ed his life, accreting and dispensing 
knowledge, unpretending in demeanor, 
accessible to the lowly as well as to the 
lofty, with ready and kindly counsel to 
all who sought it, honest in every word 
and act. In the prime of his manhood, 
he was tall in figure and erect in form. 
He had an aquiline nose, gray eyes and 
regular features stamped with intelli- 
gence. Not a wrinkle seamed his face, 
even at the last, and advancing years made 
few inroads either upon his appearance or 
strength, or impaired his faculties. His 
death was sudden, caused by an acute 
attack of pneumonia. It occurred in New 
York, September 7, 1831. He had just 
completed his sixty-seventh year. His 
wife survived but as quaint old Fuller 
would say "the only issues of his body 
were the products of his brain." "His 
funeral," says Dr. Francis "was a great 
demonstration for a private citizen. I 
was one of the multitude that attended 
and lingered at the grave until all, save 
the sexton, had withdrawn. Not being 
recognized by that official, I inquired 
whom he had just buried. 'A great char- 
acter,' he answered, 'one who knew all 
things on earth and in the waters of the 
deep.' " He lies in Greenwood Cemetery, 
where a State monument has been erected 



with this inscription, "Whether there is 
knowledge it shall vanish away. For we 
know in part." 



LIVINGSTON, Edward, 

statesman, Scliolar, Diplomat. 

Although the noon of Edward Living- 
ston's fame brightened under southern 
skies, New York claims him as one of 
her most illustrious sons. Here he first 
saw the light ; here he attained early 
distinction ; and here he passed the 
tranquil evening of his life. He was born 
at Clermont, Columbia county, May 26, 
1764, the youngest of ten children of 
Judge Robert R. Livingston, a man of 
rare probity, learning and patriotism. 
Several of the sons became distinguished, 
either in military or civil service, Robert 
R. Jr., pre-eminently so; and the daugh- 
ters were married to men of like stand- 
ing — Janet to the gallant General Mont- 
gomery ; Catherine to Freeborn Garret- 
son, a pioneer minister of the Methodist 
Episcopal communion, of sacred memory ; 
Gertrude to Governor Morgan Lewis ; 
Joanna to Lieutenant-Governor Peter R. 
Livingston ; and Alida to General John 
Armstrong of Revolutionary distinction, 
a United States Senator and Secretary of 
War under Madison. 

Edward was reared amid the refined 
and lettered associations of the famous 
manor-house, its burning by British 
raiders being indelibly impressed upon his 
mind. Caressed for his gentle disposi- 
tion and admired for his precocity, his 
boyish studies were directed by Dominie 
Doll, a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed 
Church, the school being removed to 
Hurley as the war clouds threatened it. 
There, amid the tumult and danger of the 
beleaguered region, he was fitted for col- 
lege and entered the junior class at Nas- 
sau Hall in 1779, then under the presi- 
dency of the great Dr. Witherspoon — 



63 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



just returned from his energetic labors in 
Congress to repair its shattered buildings 
and recall its scattered students. Living- 
ston was graduated in 1781, but, accord- 
ing to his own statement, with more of 
rambling than digging among his books 
• — doubtless due to his tender years, for 
he was but seventeen. On leaving col- 
lege, he began the study of the law in the 
office of John Lansing Jr., subsequently 
Chancellor, at Albany and continued it in 
New York, changing his habits entirely 
and becoming a diligent and exact stu- 
dent and was thus ever characterized. 
He was especially attracted to the civil 
war and read general literature and 
French authors extensively, so that when 
he was admitted to the bar. in January, 
1785, he was exceptionally well equipped 
for its practice and widely accomplished 
in letters. He opened an office in New 
York, with such competitors in his pro- 
fession as Robert Troup. Egbert Benson, 
Brockholst Livingston, Melancthon 
Smith, James Duane, Aaron Burr and 
.Alexander Hamilton, assuming, at once, 
a respectable and, soon, an eminent stand- 
ing among them. By his amiability and 
hospitality, his conversational wit and his 
family connections he became a social 
favorite, while the city drawing room of 
his mother, where Mrs. Montgomery and 
the still unmarried daughters reigned, 
was frequented by all that was best and 
most distinguished in the community, 
vying with a French salon in its attrac- 
tiveness. Edward wedded Mary, the 
daughter of Charles McEvers, a New 
York merchant, April 10, 1788. He en- 
tered the political field in the early nine- 
ties, following the lead of his brother, the 
Chancellor, into the Republican party, not 
having been old enough to have allied 
himself with the Federalists, while the 
Livingstons were identified with them ; 
and his studies, as well as his predilec- 
tions, had, from the first, been of demo- 



cratic inclination. He was elected a rep- 
resentative from New York to the Fourth 
Congress and, by successive re-elections, 
remained a member of that body for three 
terms. 

Although but thirty years of age when 
he took his seat in the Congress, and dur- 
ing his tenure encountering such redoubt- 
able antagonists as Fisher Ames, Theo- 
dore Sedgwick and John Marshall and 
meeting such allies as Albert Gallatin, 
James Madison, John Randolph and An- 
drew Jackson, he soon acquired a leading 
position on the floor by his accurate 
knowledge of the subjects under discus- 
sion and his skill, perspicuity and earnest- 
ness in presenting them. His speeches in 
opposition to the appropriation to carry 
the Jay treaty into effect, and to the pas- 
sage of the Alien and Sedition laws, al- 
though he was beaten upon the count, 
gave him national reputation as an orator' 
and a foremost place in the councils of 
his party. He also distinguished himself 
upon the measure for the protection of 
American seamen, impressed into the ser- 
vice of foreign powers, that eventuated 
in the Act of May 28, 1796; by his cen- 
sure, upon grounds of simplicity and 
economy, of the bill to erect the naval 
division of the war bureau into a separate 
department, which passed by a narrow 
majority ; and by his vigorous advocacy 
of a change in the penal laws "by sub- 
stituting milder punishments for certain 
crimes, for which infamous and capital 
punishments are now inflicted." He had 
the pleasure in the Sixth Congress of cast- 
ing his vote for Jefferson for president. 
Upon his return to New York he was 
received with overwhelming congratula- 
tions, but declined a re-election. "The 
commanding position in which Mr. Liv- 
ingston stood, at this period, before the 
public is illustrated by the remarks of 
a distinguished French traveller (La 
Rochefoucald — Lincourt) who, describ- 



64 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ing what he saw at New York, named, 
under the head of personages who deserve 
mention' but three men — Hamilton, Burr 
and Edward Livingston — and gave to the 
last the most extended notice of the three, 
styling him 'one of the most enlightened 
and most eloquent members of Congress 
in the party of the opposition.'" (Hunt's 
"Livingston," page 74). 

Livingston left the national capital on 
March 3, 1801, the day before Jefferson's 
inauguration. Upon the three ensuing 
years of his life, mingled lights and 
shadows fall. They are years of profes- 
sional success, ofificial honors, severe do- 
mestic afiflictions and culminating dis- 
aster. Nine days after his return to New 
York, his dearly beloved wife, still youth- 
ful, graceful and beautiful, died of scarlet 
fever, leaving two sons and a daughter 
surviving to him, the eldest, a bright and 
lovely boy of twelve, but of frail constitu- 
tion, dying within less than two years 
thereafter. Two weeks from the pass- 
ing of his wife, he was commissioned 
L'nited States District Attorney — an hon- 
orable and lucrative ofifice in the line of 
his profession ; and, the following August, 
was appointed mayor of New York, then 
esteemed one of the most responsible 
posts in the country, DeWitt Clinton so 
regarding it when he resigned from the 
United States Senate to accept it. Liv- 
ingston's administration was remarkable 
for the capacity that it exhibited. He 
faithfully discharged all its functions ; 
suggested and consummated measures of 
reform and relief ; presided over capital 
cases, with impressive charges to juries 
and just decisions ; renewed his efforts, 
begun in Congress, for the melioration in 
the punishment and reformation of crim- 
inals and crowned his record by unselfish 
labors to abate the scourge of yellow- 
fever — himself attacked by it — which 
swept the city in the summer of 1803. 
He was a Christian hero — well-nigh, a 

N Y— Vol 1—5 



martyr, in that dread visitation of pesti- 
lence and death. 

And now, even before the streets had 
been cleansed of pollution, the severest 
blow of his life descended upon Edward 
Livingston, as he found himself officially 
a defaulter to the government. At the 
time, moneys belonging to the general 
government, recovered in tines and legal 
proceedings, were deposited with the 
district-attorney and by him accounted 
for. For the most part, these were tem- 
porarily in the hands of the attorney's 
subordinates and this, coupled with Liv- 
ingston's carelessness in financial details, 
had afforded one of these, a worthless 
and dissolute fellow, the opportunity for 
embezzlement, of which offense as has 
been intimated, the attorney was guilty, 
technically. He met the calamity man- 
fully. Without waiting for expert in- 
vestigation of the balance involved, he 
voluntarily confessed judgment for $100,- 
ooD, afterward adjusted at $48,666.21, 
which he paid ultimately with interest. 
He resigned both his offices, amid much 
of public and private sympathy and trust 
in his integrity. Governor Clinton and 
the Common Council being especially 
kind in their expressions of regret. He 
resolved to rebuild his fortunes in an- 
other climate, being attracted to Louis- 
iana because of his brother's connection, 
as minister with the purchase thereof, his 
own fluency in the French tongue and his 
knowledge of the civil law there obtain- 
ing. Accordingly, he sailed from New 
York, arriving at New Orleans, February 
7, 1804, and at the age of forty, essayed 
the greater career and the loftier appre- 
ciation that awaited him. His fame had 
preceded him ; and he received a hearty 
welcome from all classes in his adopted 
city. 

From the first, he assumed, as he con- 
tinued to hold, the foremost position in 
his profession, not only in cases at bar. 



65 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



but, also not only as interpreter, but as 
author, in the higher realm of constitu- 
tional law, his magnum opus — "A System 
of Penal Law," published in 1821, being 
translated into several languages, its 
main provisions adopted by many States, 
medals being bestowed upon him by 
sovereigns and the highest authorities 
ranking him with "the sages of antiquity" 
and styling him "the first legal genius of 
modern times." Earnestly devoted to 
recouping his fortunes, he engaged in ex- 
tended real estate operations, seriously 
embarrassing him and notably provoking 
the long drawn litigation over his claim 
to the Batture Ste. Marie land, involv- 
ing him in a heated controversy with 
President Jefi'crson upholding public title 
thereto — a very celebrated case. Even- 
tually, Livingston was enabled to pay his 
debt to the United States in full, dis- 
charge his other obligations and save a 
competency for himself; inheriting also 
in 1828, from his sister, Janet, her resi- 
dence — "Montgomery Place," upon the 
Hudson; but his struggle with adversity 
was as protracted, as strenuous. In the 
winter of itiiS, he contracted his enduring 
intimacy with General Jackson whom, it 
will be remembered, he had met in the 
Sixth Congress, who employed him in 
various legal capacities and appointed 
him an aide-de-camp on his staflf. He par- 
ticipated bravely in the battle of New 
Orleans and, later, was one of the chief- 
tian's most zealous and eflfective support- 
ers for the presidency. In 1805, he mar- 
ried Madame Louise de Lasey — of maiden 
name, Davezat de Castra — a woman of 
unique grace, beauty and intellect, a 
guiding spirit to him for the rest of his 
days. She bore him a daughter, Cora, 
who, in 1833, was married to Thomas P. 
Barton, secretary of legation to France, 
when Livingston was minister. In 1813, 
he lost his daughter, Julia, a fair, gentle 
and accomplished girl, in her twentieth 



year. Thenceforth, he lavished his pater- 
nal affection upon his only son, Lewis, 
than a lad of fifteen, who lived to be- 
come a youth of engaging presence, libera) 
education and gifted promise, who died at 
sea, of pulmonary complaint, in 1822. The 
father's letters to him while he was study- 
ing in Philadelphia and New York, are 
models of solicitude, counsel and com- 
position. They have a certain Chester- 
fieldian flavor as to deportment, lacking 
the moral poison that the courtier instill- 
ed in his epistles, and are studded with 
precepts as to curriculums, by which 
educators of to-day may well profit. 
Surely Edward Livingston drained the 
cup of household affliction to its very 
dregs. 

Livingston re-entered public life, in 
1820, by accepting a seat in the lower 
house of the Louisiana legislature, in 
which he was chairman of the ways and 
means committee and initiated his system 
of penal law, already alluded to. In 1822 
he was unanimously elected a representa- 
tive in the Eighteenth Congress and was 
twice re-elected, compassing the same 
tenure of six years, as a quarter of a cen- 
tury earlier. Fortified by even more than 
a national reputation, he was held in 
exalted esteem by his colleagues and the 
country, speaking infrequently, but per- 
suasively, when occasion demanded. 
Nominated for a fourth term, he was de- 
feated, the Adams administration forces 
then being ascendant in his district ; but 
was returned to the national Senate at the 
ensuing session of the legislature, taking 
his seat March 4, 1829, coincidently with 
the inauguration of President Jackson. 
His most notable speech in the Senate 
was upon the Foot public land resolution, 
the debate upon which is made memor- 
able by Webster's splendid invocation 
for the integrity of the Union ; Living- 
ston's keynote being that "the people will 
not submit to consolidation, nor suffer 



66 




^y.v</ j^y/e 



o/i 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



disunion." His term ending, he retired 
to Montgomery Place, practically renew- 
ing his New York citizenship; but, being 
urged by the president consented reluc- 
tantly to enter the cabinet as Secretary of 
State on May 30, 1831. His service was 
without special incident, the duties of his 
desk being faithfully performed and for- 
eign relations peacefully maintained ; but 
he was the confidant of Jackson, as was 
Van Buren who preceded him ; to him the 
preparation of important state papers was 
entrusted ; and he was the main phrase- 
maker of the celebrated proclamation to 
the South Carolina nullifiers in December, 

1832, informed with Jackson's inflexible 
determination that the Union must and 
would be preserved. In the spring of 

1833, he was chosen a foreign associate 
of the Institute of France, a distinction 
rarely conferred and only for the highest 
scientific attainments. On May 29th he 
was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and 
Minister Plenipotentiary to France. 

Upon his arrival in Paris he was greet- 
ed with the cordial attentions of eminent 
men, the testimonials of learned societies, 
the renewal of his youthful friendship 
with La Fayette and a flattering reception 
by King Louis Philippe and the royal 
family. He addressed himself immedi- 
ately to the disturbed and, at times, 
perilous relations of the two countries, 
consequent upon the neglect of the 
French government to settle the spoli- 
ation claims, as stipulated by the treaty 
of 1831. The negotiations were of an en- 
grossing nature for the next two years, 
conducted by Livingston with signal de- 
corum and firmness. The climax was 
reached in his withdrawal from the mis- 
sion, by order of the president, succeed- 
ing the French refusal to pay the adjudi- 
cated claims, without prior explanation or 
apology for certain passages in the presi- 
dent's annual message of 1834, construed 
by the French authorities as a menace, 



Livingston holding that no communica- 
tion of the executive to Congress was 
amenable to review or criticism by a for- 
eign power. Such explanation was never 
vouchsafed and France paid, without re- 
sort to arms by the United States. Liv- 
ingston arrived in New York, June 23, 
1835, and after congratulatory banquets 
in the metropolis, Philadelphia and else- 
where and the hearty approval of the 
president at Washington, repaired to his 
home where he spent peacefully his few 
declining days, emerging but once to 
argue an important case in the Supreme 
Court of the United States. He died full 
of years and honors. May 23, 1836, and is 
buried at Montgomery Place. An ad- 
mirable and appreciative "Life of Edward 
Livingston" by Charles Havens Hunt, 
with an introduction by George Bancroft, 
is of imprint, 1864. 



FULTON, Robert, 

Artist, Engineer, Inventor. 

The evolution of the great inventions 
that glorify the nineteenth century was 
so long delayed as to appear obedient to 
a general rule. To all these, the expec- 
tant years deferred. For each — carriage 
propulsion on earthen roads, the railway, 
the magnetic telegraph, aerial and sub- 
marine exploration, and, conspicuously, 
surface navigation by steam — closet 
dreamers and partial discoverers waited 
through the centuries. The dreams per- 
sisted even before the incoming of the 
Christian era from the time when the ex- 
pansive force of steam was recognized ; but 
little knowledge of the earlier exjieriments 
with this marvelous agency remains. 
Archimedes hints at its possibilities and 
Heron, in his "Pnenumatics," about 230 
B. C. describes certain simple con- 
trivances showing its mechanical effects. 
No further advances in its utilization are 
recorded prior to the sixteenth or seven- 



(^7 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



teenth century A. D. — an age fertile in 
mechanical devices. It is refuted that 
Blasco de Garay, of Barcelona, propelled 
in 1543, a vessel of two hundred tons by 
paddles with "a water boiler liable to 
burst," but the story lacks authenticity. 
In 1615, Solomon de Caus, a French en- 
gineer, notes the action of a jet of water 
on its surface in the vessel of steam 
generated from it ; and fourteen years 
later, Branca, an Italian, depicted a ma- 
chine in which a wheel was driven round 
by the impulse of stear" against vanes ; 
but the first engine, properly speaking, in 
which it was employed is credited to the 
Marquis of Worcester, about 1656. More 
than a century elapsed, however, before 
Watt invented his engine and Stephen- 
son built his locomotive. Modern appli- 
ances in steam navigation date from about 
the middle of the eighteenth century. In 
France, from 1774 to 1796, the Count de 
Auxiron, the Ijrothers Pierre and M. des 
Blancs, severally adventured boats to be 
propelled by steam, none of which were 
successful. In Scotland, in 1788, Patrick 
Miller and William Symington ran, on 
Dalswinlock, twin, or double, pleasure 
boats, by means of a paddle wheel placed 
between them, driven by an engine with 
a four-inch cylinder, attaining a speed of 
five miles an hour ; and, with a larger 
engine, in 1789. they navigated the Forth 
and Clyde canal, at a rate of six or seven 
miles, but, owing to inefficiency in the 
machinery, they abandoned further at- 
tempts. 

At the period indicated, American in- 
ventive genius manifested itself predomi- 
nantly, with John Fitch, of Connecticut, 
the pioneer in the field. It is noteworthy 
that his first essay as an inventor was the 
idea of carriage propulsion by steam on 
an ordinary road, but, abandoning this as 
impracticable, he turned his thought to 
steam navigation, and, in April, 1786, 
moved a skiff on the Delaware by an 



engine with an one-inch cylinder, which 
fixes his claim to priority. In 1788 he 
made several passages between Philadel- 
phia and Burlington, with a twelve-inch 
cylinder, at the rate of four miles an hour ; 
in 1790 ran a passenger boat, with an 
average speed of seven and a half miles, 
and, in 1796, worked one on the Collect, 
in New York, by a submerged wheel at 
the stern — the precursor of the screw 
propeller. He failed of success only for 
want of means to perfect his inventions 
and died disheartened and desperate, by 
his own hands, at Bardstown, Kentucky, 
in 1798. In 1787 James Rumsey, of Vir- 
ginia, attained a speed of three miles on 
the Potomac, by the reaction of water 
taken in at the bow of a boat by a steam 
engine and forced out at the stern ; and, 
obtaining patents in Great Britain, France 
and Holland, made a promising trip upon 
the Thames in 1792, and was preparing 
for another experiment, when he died in 
December of that year. In 1798 the Leg- 
islature of New York granted to Chan- 
cellor Robert R. Livingston, who had 
made some trials with steam as a motive 
power, the right to navigate the waters 
of the State therewith for twenty years, 
but this was not made available until 
Livingston's purse became the minister 
of Fulton's genius. The experiments of 
William Henry, Nathan Reed, Samuel 
Moxey, Nicholas J. Roosevelt, Robert 
Evans and other Americans need not be 
narrated, because they did not produce 
anything beyond that which Fitch and 
Rumsey had either accomplished or 
prophesied. It was reserved for Fulton 
to resolve speculation and endeavor into 
positive achievement. His energy and 
skill secured the combination of plans and 
means that rendered steam navigation at 
once practicable and profitable. It was 
by his launching of the "Clermont," in 
1807, upon the majestic river of the Em- 
pire State that he, a citizen thereof, in the 



68 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



words of St. Clair McKelway, "gave to 
the world the key of all navig-able waters" 
and compelled "the fellowship of all seas 
and between all lands." 

Robert Fulton, the father, was an emi- 
grant from Ulster county, Ireland, who in 
1759 married Mary, daughter of Joseph 
Smith, also of Irish extraction, and 
brought her to his dwelling in Penn 
Square, Lancaster, Pennsylvania. In 1765 
be bought a farm of three hundred and 
sixty-four acres on Conowongo creek, in 
Little Britain township, Lancaster coun- 
ty, where on November 14 their elder son 
Robert was born. The farm house is still 
standing and, although much altered ex- 
ternally, the old kitchen, parlor and the 
room above, in which the bo)' was born, 
remain intact. The elder Robert was a 
man of prominence in his community and 
held several town offices, being, however, 
unprosperous financially and dying, in 
1768, left his widow and a family of three 
daughters and two sons with the farm 
heavily encumbered. The mother was of 
superior attainments, rot without busi- 
ness capacity and was enabled to rear her 
children in comfort, if not in affluence. 
Robert received a common school educa- 
tion and, although not especially diligent 
in his studies, early gave evidence of both 
an artistic and mechanical inclination. In 
1782 he went to Philadelphia, where 
within three years he gained a fair repu- 
tation as a miniature painter, attracting 
the regard and patronage of leading citi- 
zens and particularly the favor of Benja- 
min Franklin, whose portrait he limned. 
He devoted a portion of his savings to 
the purchase of a farm of some eighty 
acres in Hopewell, upon which he placed 
his mother and where she lived until her 
death in 1799. By his will he confirmed 
its possession in his sister Cornelia and 
evinced his affection for his sisters and 
brother by gifts to them during his life 
and by bequests. 



Late in 1786 Fulton, with slender purse, 
but hopeful heart, resolved to pursue his 
art abroad. Fortified by a letter from 
Franklin to Benjamin West, the Amer- 
ican artist, then a Royal Academician, at 
the crest of his brilliant fame and by a 
family tie, his sister Mary having been 
married to David Morris, West's nephew, 
he arrived in London early in 1787, hav- 
ing just attained his majority. W'est re- 
ceived him cordially and did much to for- 
ward his ambition in his profession, in 
which he fared measurably well. He had 
the entree of the best artistic circles; he 
was industrious; his pictures were hung 
in the Academy; several of the nobility 
sat to him ; and he earned a decent living. 
Whether he would have reached a pin- 
nacle in his profession, had he continued 
in it, is problematical. Mr. Charles Henry 
Hart, a most competent art critic, in a let- 
ter to H. W. Dickinson, of the Science 
Museum, South Kensington, and the 
author of a scholarly biography of Pulton, 
says of Fulton's miniatures that "they 
are well drawn, good in design, delicately 
colored and well executed technically," 
and of his larger paintings that they 
"showed strong characterization and 
breadth, a firm brush and good color 
sense. He had not yet developed a style 
of his own and, while he gave some prom- 
ise, it is doubtful whether he would have 
equalled Benjamin West ; decidedly he 
would not have attained to the stature of 
John Singleton Copley, Gilbert .Stuart 
and John Trumbull, to mention only 
those who were his contemporaries and 
compatriots." 

Be this as it may ; whether or not he 
recognized his limitations as an artist, or 
independent of this that his subconscious- 
ness as to his proper vocation asserted 
itself, he abandoned in 1793 the profes- 
sion of art to adopt that of engineering. 
His first essay in his new line appears to 
have been a design for a mill for sawing 



69 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



marble or stone, which was operated near 
Torbay, Devon, and for which he received 
the silver medal of the "Society for the 
Encouragement of Arts, Commerce and 
Manufactures." He also patented ma- 
chines for spinning flax and for making 
ropes and invented an excavator for the 
channels of canals and aqueducts. Inti- 
macies with Watt, who had just improved 
the steam engine, and with Earl Stan- 
hope, a zealous mechanical projector of 
no mean results, led Fulton to devote 
himself mainly to the construction of 
canals and the development of steam as 
the motive power thereon. After various 
activities, under extreme financial em- 
barrassment and even privation in liv- 
ing, he took up his residence in Paris, in 
1797, with Joel Barlow, the American 
politician, poet and diplomat, with whom 
he enjoyed the closest friendship and 
who assisted him financially in his scien- 
tific pursuits. There he remained for 
seven years, during which he made dili- 
gent study of the continental languages 
and the sciences consistent with his pro- 
fession and, among other things, devised 
a submarine boat, which was successfully 
exploited at Brest, August 11, 1801 ; but 
he failed in obtaining appropriations 
therefor from the Napoleonic govern- 
ment, as subsequently a like rejection by 
England, and, for the time, he relin- 
quished his undertakings in this regard. 

Late in 1801, he met Chancellor Living- 
ston, whose interest in steam navigation 
has been alluded to, and who had just 
been commissioned as minister plenipo- 
tentiary of the United States to France ; 
and they were immediately in friendly 
and scientific intercourse, a result of 
which were the articles of agreement be- 
tween them, under date of October 10, 
1802, the preamble to which was as fol- 
lows: 

Whereas, The said Livingston and Fulton 
have for several years separately tried various 



mechanical combinations for the purpose of pro- 
pelling boats and vessels by the power of steam 
engines and conceiving that their experiments 
have demonstrated the possibility of success, 
they hereby agree to make an attempt to carry 
their inventions into useful operation and for 
that purpose enter into partnership. 

The main conditions of the instrument 
were the furnishing of capital and influ- 
ence by Livingston and the construction 
of craft by Fulton. Follow the series of 
trials in France, one on the Seine emi- 
nently convincing; Fulton's residence in 
England from 1804 until 1806; further 
experiments there with the submarine 
and torpedo ; the ordering of engines for 
a contemplated American boat ; and his 
arrival in New York, after an absence of 
nineteen years, December 13, 1806. He 
was honorably received in his native land, 
and was elected a director of the Amer- 
ican Academy of Fine Arts, a fellow of 
the American Philosophical and the New 
York Historical Societies, and aided in 
the formation of the Literary and Philo- 
sophical Society of New York. He be- 
came a citizen of New York and at once 
engaged in many matters, among which 
were efforts to secure from the general 
government appropriations for his tor- 
pedo and submarine projects that were 
realized several years later; but his chief 
concern was, in conjunction with Living- 
ston, for the equipment of an American 
steamboat. This was duly accomplished 
and the "Clermont" — named after the 
Chancellor's estate — made her trial trip 
on the Hudson, leaving New York on the 
afternoon of Monday, August 17, 1807, 
reaching Albany on Wednesday and, on 
the return, mooring at New York, Friday 
afternoon, the distance being three hun- 
dred miles and the average speed five 
miles per hour, nineteen hours being spent 
at the Chancellor's, forty miles below Al- 
bany. Upon this stupendous achieve- 
ment, with the benefits it conferred upon 
the commerce and civilization of the 



70 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



world, the fame of Robert Fulton pre- 
eminently depends. 

This, however, did not fill the measure 
of his usefulness. Eight years of life re- 
mained to him and they were busy and 
abundant years. Among their outcomes 
may be mentioned the building of a sec- 
ond and larger boat, the "Car of Nep- 
tune;" the establishment of a brisk pas- 
senger service on the Hudson ; the pro- 
curement of the exclusive privilege of 
navigating by steam the waters of the 
State for thirty years ; the plying of ferry 
boats on the North and East rivers ; the 
issuing of his first patent by the United 
States in 1809 and its confiscation in 181 1. 
In 181 1 also he was appointed a member 
of the commission for the construction of 
the Erie Canal and contributed to that 
magnificent enterprize both instructive 
literature and personal supervision. In 
1814, he was chosen the engineer to build 
and employ floating batteries for the na- 
tional defence. He constructed a war 
steamer, styled by him "Demologos," 
though subsequently named "Fulton the 
First." He was also employed by the 
President upon a modification of his sub- 
marine boat, a work which was arrested 
by his death. In January, 1815, he 
caught a cold in Trenton, whither he had 
been summoned as a witness in the New 
Jersey ferry-boat case, which eventuated 
in pneumonia and other complications 
ending his life in his fiftieth year. 

"Fulton was about six feet high. His 
person was slender, but well propor- 
tioned and well formed. Nature had made 
him a gentleman and bestowed upon him 
ease and gracefulness. His features were 
strong and of a manly beauty; he had 
large, dark eyes and a projecting brow, 
expressive of intelligence and thought ; 
his temper was mild and his disposition 
lively * * * In all his domestic and social 
relations he was zealous, kind, generous, 
liberal and affectionate. He knew of no 



use for money, but as it was subservient 
to charity, hospitality and the sciences; 
but what was most conspicuous in his 
character was his calm constancy, his in- 
dustry and that indefatigable patience 
and perseverance which always enabled 
him to overcome difficulties." (Colden's 
"Life of Fulton" pages 257-58). In poli- 
tics he was of the JefTersonian school, but 
he did not indulge in its activities by 
reason of his prolonged absence from the 
country and his indisposition to accept 
public preferment. He did not leave a 
large estate, it being reduced by his 
liberal expenditures and the litigations in 
which he was involved ; and it was not 
until 1846 that his heirs were awarded 
$76,300 due to him by the Federal gov- 
ernment. He married, on January 7, 
1808, Harriet, a daughter of Walter Liv- 
ingston, a second cousin of the Chancel- 
lor and a man of considerable political 
importance. He had issue one son — 
Robert Barlow, (born 1809, died 1841) 
named after his godfather, Joel Barlow, 
and three daughters, Julia (born 1810, 
died 1848) married to Charles Blight, of 
Philadelphia; Mary Livingston (born 
181 1, died i860), married to Robert Lud- 
low, of Claverack, New York ; Cornelia 
Livingston (born 1812, died 1863), mar- 
ried to Edward Charles Crary. His death 
inspired marked demonstrations of the 
honor in which he was held. The Legis- 
lature of New York directed that its 
members should wear mourning for him. 
Resolutions of grief and respect were 
adopted by the Corporation of New York 
City and by many learned societies. His 
funeral was attended by national. State 
and municipal officials, scientific and liter- 
ary representatives and a great concourse 
of citizens. His body was deposited in 
the Livingston vault. Trinity church- 
yard, near which a column bearing on one 
side a bronze medallion portrait has been 
erected by the American Society of Me- 



71 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



chanical Engineers. Portraits of Fulton 
are many, among them being those of 
Vanderlyn, Peale and Jarvis and one at- 
tributed to West. There is also a marble 
bust by Houdon in the Louvre. His 
name was one of the first chosen for in- 
scription on the tablets of great Ameri- 
cans in the Hall of Fame, New York Uni- 
versity P)iographies of him have been 
written by Golden, Renwick, Dickinson 
and others and the sumptuous volumes 
of the "Hudson-Fulton Celebration, 1809" 
published by the State abound in tributes 
to and illustrations of his services. 



SPENCER, Ambrose, 

Politician, Statesman, Jnrlst. 

Ambrose Spencer, among the greatest 
sons of the Empire State, as revealed in 
his achievements as politician, statesman 
and jurist, was of excellent New England 
stock, born in Salisbury, Connecticut, 
December 13, 1765. Thither, his father, 
Philip, a native of East Haddam, the 
third in descent from the ancestor, who 
had emigrated from the west of England, 
had gone at an early age, subsequently 
settling in the town of North East, 
Dutchess county, where, as a farmer he 
acquired a moderate estate, reared his 
family, was an ardent and active patriot 
of the Revolution and highly respected 
in his community. His wife, of goodly 
presence and sturdy principle, was a 
daughter of Jonathan Moore, of Sims- 
bury, Connecticut, evincing independ- 
ence of her non-conformist environment 
by having her children baptized by a 
clergyman of the Episcopal church, to 
which communion Ambrose was attach- 
ed during his life. 

Father Spencer, ambitious that his 
sons. Philip and Ambrose, should receive 
the best collegiate education possible, 
entered them after adequate preliminary 
training, at Yale College, in the autumn 



of 1779, where they remained three years, 
transferring them at the end of junior 
year to Harvard, where they were gradu- 
ated in 1783, Ambrose being but a few 
months over seventeen years old. His 
legal studies were pursued in the offices 
of John Canfield, at Sharon, Connecticut, 
John Bay at Claverack, and Ezekiel Gil- 
bert, of Hudson, Columbia county, all 
accomplished instructors. He was ad- 
mitted an attorney of the Supreme Court 
in 1788 and solicitor and counsellor in 
chancery in 1790, and began practice in 
Hudson, having, while he was a law stu- 
dent, been appointed the clerk of that 
city. In 1784, he married Laura, the 
daughter of his first law preceptor, Can- 
field, P'ebruary 18, 1784, when he was but 
eighteen ; which act in the words of his 
eminent eulogist, the Hon. Daniel D. 
P>arnard, LL. D., "bespoke an independ- 
ent spirit, confident and disposed to rely 
on itself and its own energies — a strength 
of resolution and purpose such as was so 
often displayed by him in after life." His 
success at the bar was immediate, daz- 
zling and emolumental ; and that in a 
region brilliant with legal luminaries. He 
had extraordinary confidence in his own 
capacity and feared no antagonist, al- 
though he contended with giants. He 
took part in the trial or argument of the 
most important and difificult cases, both 
in the lower and higher courts, scoring 
many victories. His personal appear- 
ance doubtless contributed something to 
their occurrence. He is described as of 
herculean frame and stately presence, 
with dark complexion and piercing eyes, 
enduring to the end. 

Meanwhile, he became active and in- 
fluential in politics, at first with Feder- 
alist and. later, with Republican, bent; 
and his public honors kept pace with his 
professional rewards. In 1794. he was 
a member of Assembly from Columbia 
countv. He was elected to the Senate in 



72 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



1795, and took his seat therein, January, 

1796. He was re-elected in 1798, serv- 
ing until 1803, being a member of the 
Council of Appointment in 1797 and 1800. 
In 1797, he was made Attorney-General 
for the Columbia and Dutchess district ; 
in February, 1802, he was appointed At- 
torney-General of the State, remaining 
such until February, 1804, when he be- 
came a judge of the Supreme Court, and 
in February, 1812, was elevated to the 
Chief-Justiceship. He was a Regent of 
the University from 1805 until 1814. In 
politics, as an organizer and tactician, and 
in the higher range, as an exponent of 
principles, he exhibited decided genius. 
His sagacity, courage and imperial will 
were in constant evidence ; and at times, 
his sway was paramount in State affairs 
and potent even in national government, 
but his intolerance of criticism and his 
dictatorial mien — in this the counterpart 
of DeWitt Clinton — and a vacillation in 
his personal, as well as his political, affili- 
ations militated against his uniform su- 
premacy and frustrated certain of his 
aspirations for State-craft. 

In 1798, he left the Federalist and 
joined the Republican ranks — the oc- 
casion of much harsh censure and the 
imputation of purely selfish motives by 
his former political associates. He was 
charged with being unduly influenced by 
his relative Chancellor Livingston and by 
DeWitt Clinton who was to become his 
relative and with nourishing a grievance 
arising from his disappointment in failing 
to secure either the State comptroller- 
ship or a mission abroad. He branded 
these charges as calumnious, insisting 
that his change was one wholly of prin- 
ciple, at a time when the secession from 
Federalism had assumed the dignity of 
a movement, inspired by revulsion at 
the policies of the Adams administration 
and in which many Federalists in New 
York of high character — the Livingstons, 



L'llomedieu, Armstrong and others — 
participated. He contributed largely to 
the triumph of the Republican party in 
the State and nation in 1800; and was 
especially serviceable to Jefferson by 
checking the attempt of Aaron Burr to 
have one of the electors leave Jefferson's 
name out of his ballot, thus giving Burr 
the lead in the colleges. This Spencer 
accomplished by constraining the adop- 
tion of a resolution that each member in 
the New York college should lay his open 
ballot on the table before depositing it in 
the box; Jefferson and Burr, therefore, 
each receiving the total vote of twelve. 
Spencer himself was a Madison elector in 
]8o8, and cordially supported that admin- 
istration throughout. 

In factional collisions within the party 
he was in alternate alliance with and 
antagonism to the leaders of each 
element, Van Buren, perhaps excepted, 
with whom he seems to have been in con- 
stant warfare. He opposed the re-election 
of Governor Lewis and did essential ser- 
vice in promoting the first election of 
Tompkins, as governor, whom he consist- 
ently upheld in his measures for prose- 
cuting the war with Great Britain and in 
curbing the wholesale issue of charters to 
State banks. Contracting an intimate 
friendship with DeWitt Clinton, they 
were, for a time, Damon and Pythias of 
politics and, as associate members of the 
Council of Appointment, in eager union 
in beheading Federalist officials, in which 
they followed Federalist precedents in 
proscription. Spencer was estranged 
from Clinton by reason of their differ- 
ences concerning war and bank policies; 
and he stoutly traversed Clinton's canvass 
for the presidency as against the renomi- 
nation of Madison. In 1815, they were 
reconciled and thence their relations were 
of the most confidential character, Spen- 
cer enthusiastically backing Clinton for 
governor in 1S17, and remaining leal and 



7Z 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



loyal to him until his death. In 1815, 
Spencer waxed distrustful of and inimi- 
cal to Tompkins, whose return to the 
gubernatorial chair in 1820, he earnestly 
combatted. His life-long friendship for 
General John Armstrong whose military 
and political repute he sought to enhance, 
in storm as in sunshine, at every oppor- 
tunity, is also to be noted in this connec- 
tion. The period of Judge Spencer's life 
from 1800 to 1820 must be considered as 
that of his greatest activity and in- 
fluence as a politician. It embraced no 
office holding aside from that of his 
judgeship, which was strictly in the line 
of his profession and fully requited his 
superior ambitions. He w^as, indeed, 
called by his enemies "the meddlesome 
judge," but even from them there was 
not the slightest insinuation as to his 
character or capacity, as a jurist. He 
kept thai high station absolutely free 
from political leanings or entanglements. 
His political career was throughout dis- 
tinguished for the influence he exerted 
rather than for the places he filled, and 
it is not too much to say that he combined 
in himself all the qualities of daring, fore- 
sight, energy, enterprise and cool, cal- 
culating sagacity, which must be united 
in order to make a consummate political 
leader. 

He was a delegate to the Constitutional 
Convention of 1821, from the county of 
Albany, in conjunction with Kent, Van 
Rensselaer and Van Vechten — a splendid 
array of talent — and made firm, if in- 
effectual, protest against the democrat- 
ization of the organic law that the people 
demanded and the Republican majority, 
marshalled by Van Buren, effected. 
Something of the leaven of Federalism 
yet inhered in Spencer's disposition which 
rose also in his urging the election of 
John Quincy Adams, both in 1824 and 
1828, his participation in the Protective 



Tariff State Convention of 1827 and his 
ultimate identification with the Whig 
party. 

But whatever his merits as a politician, it 
is as a jurist that his fame is transcendent. 
As such his luster is undiminished ; and 
this whether his vast legal lore, his quick- 
ness of perception, his skill in the con- 
struction of statutes, his exact definitions 
of the common law, his faculty of initia- 
tive, his blazing of the way for a compre- 
hensive system of American juris- 
prudence, his exquisite sense of justice, 
or his absolute probity in decision are 
contemplated. He is entitled to the most 
exalted rank in the earlier judicial annals 
of the State — to supreme rank in his own 
department that of the common law, as 
Kent is so entitled in chancery, the opin- 
ions of each being models of clear and 
cogent expression. In the admirable 
eulogy, previously referred to, Barnard — 
and there could be no critic more analytic 
and competent — cites a number of Spen- 
cer's adjudged cases, describing his man- 
ner of handling causes, and how he was 
accustomed to deal with legal questions, 
premising that "no adequate notion what- 
ever of what he really accomplished for 
the jurisprudence of his country can be 
obtained from this, or any other selection 
of cases ; and that nothing short of an 
intelligent and discriminating progress 
through the whole record of his judicial 
labors could suffice to show the full 
measure of the progress which the law 
made under his forming hand." With 
his august, and at times, stern presence, 
although behind such exterior an amicable 
heart pulsated, he incarnated the majesty 
of the law and was a terror to evil doers. 
Fraud, vice, breaches of faith and all con- 
scious violations of law were visited by 
his righteous indignation and suitable 
sentence, and that with the terse phrase 
of which the English tongue was capable; 



74 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



but withal he was a just and humane 
judge, recognizing extenuating circum- 
stances and mitigating infirmities. 

In the remodeling of the Supreme 
Court, in accordance with the Constitu- 
tion of 1821, Judge Spencer was not re- 
tained, although Governor Yates nomi- 
nated him for Chief-Justice while the 
Senate rejected him, political animosity 
against him prevailing; and he retired 
from the bench in 1823, after a continu- 
ous service of nineteen years, resuming 
for a brief period his practice at the bar. 
Politically, he is to be classed as a Clin- 
tonian until the organization of the Whig 
party with which he connected himself as 
already indicated. From 1824 until 1826, 
he gratified the wishes of his fellow- 
citizens by accepting at their hands the 
mayoralty of the capital city, and then 
removing to a farm in its neighborhood, 
his penchant for rural pursuits and de- 
lights manifesting itself in his advancing 
years, as has been the case with many 
public men. He was, however, a repre- 
sentative in the Twenty-first Congress, 
in which he took no leading part in poli- 
tics, but, as chairman of the Committee 
on Agriculture, applied himself chiefly to 
questions connected with that interest, 
procuring measures for the cultivation of 
the sugar cane and for the dissemination 
of information concerning the silk indus- 
try. He was deeply concerned in behalf 
of the Cherokee Indians, whose treat- 
ment by the government he regarded as 
unjust and cruel and made eloquent, but 
unavailing, protest against it. He was 
also one of the house managers, in the 
case of Judge Peck, impeached for tyran- 
nous treatment of counsel and made a 
very able speech against him ; but who 
was acquitted on the counts. In 1825, 
Judge Spencer was reluctantly a candi- 
date for United States Senator to suc- 
ceed Rufus King; and had a joint ballot 



by the Legislature been permitted, he 
would have been elected by a consider- 
able majority, the Assembly nominating 
him by a vote of seventy-seven to forty- 
five ; but he was the victim of a contre- 
temps, in that the Senate, with its "Buck- 
tail" majority refused by scattering its 
votes among a score of persons, to nom- 
inate anyone, thereby precluding the joint 
ballot and remanding the election to the 
ensuing legislature. The deft hand of 
Van Buren is said to have contrived this 
strategem to defeat the will of the 
people. 

In 1839, Judge Spencer removed to an 
estate in the village of Lyons whereon he 
resided until his death. Of^ce still sought 
him. He was solicited to represent the 
Seventh Senatorial district, but this he 
declined, as he did all proffers of place. 
In his old age, while in the main, he de- 
voted himself to horticulture, his spacious 
garden and grounds inviting him to 
experiments and improvements thereon, 
he was not insensible to public affairs 
and his still facile pen contributed a num- 
ber of scholarly essays to the discussion 
of current issues. Among these were 
those approving a registry law as con- 
serving the purity of elections and lumi- 
nously insisting upon its constitutionality ; 
and, consistent with his life-long convic- 
tions, those opposing the erection of an 
elective judiciary, about to be perfected 
by the Constitutional Convention of 1846. 
His last public appearance of moment 
was as president of the Whig National 
Convention at Baltimore, which nominat- 
ed Henry Clay. Succeeding his strenu- 
ous and even tumultuous life, his days 
passed serenely to the closing sunset with 
supreme trust in the religious commun- 
ion to which he had long been attached. 
He had been thrice married, his second 
and third wife both being sisters of De 
Witt Clinton. He left several children, one 



75 




JOSEPH C YAH 




JOSEPH C. YATES 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



kins ("Lives of the Governors," page 
331) is here adopted: 

As a judge he was distinguished for his plain 
and practical common sense, for his upright- 
ness and impartiality, and for the courtesy and 
urbanity which gained him the respect and 
esteem of the profession and the public * • * 
None ever brought to the office greater honesty 
or integrity. Though he made no startling dis- 
play of legal knowledge and acumen, he com- 
mitted very few mistakes. His perceptions were 
not rapid, yet his judgment was clear and 
accurate and his decisions were rarely incorrect. 
If he committed errors, however, he was prompt 
to acknowledge them and to suggest the appro- 
priate remedy. 

This portrayal of Yates as a judge may 
well serve as an analysis of his quality as 
a politician, if it is assumed that he can be 
classed as such. With a good under- 
standing of and fidelity to the principles 
of his party and, with his courtesy of 
address coupled with his wholesome char- 
acter, he won public, as well as profes- 
sional, esteem ; but he lacked tact in 
management — the chief asset of a prac- 
tical politician. In 1822, the new consti- 
tution became operative with the term of 
the governor reduced to two years and his 
power of appointment materially increas- 
ed. DeWitt Clinton, whose arrogant 
manners had, for the time at least, multi- 
plied his foes, notwithstanding his flaw- 
less record as a statesman, deemed it 
prudent not to enter the lists for his own 
succession. This left the Republicans 
free to select another nominee ; and a 
number of persons were proposed there- 
for ; but the canvass finally narrowed to 
two names — those of Samuel Young and 
Judge Yates ; the one bold, aggressive 
and of superior oratorical gifts ; the other 
amiable, undemonstrative and receptive. 
In the legislative caucus, Yates received 
a large majority of votes and was nomi- 
nated amid much enthusiasm. The elec- 
tion was even more one-sided than the 



caucus, the Clintonites and Federalists 
uniting with the regular Republicans in 
supporting Yates, the only opposition 
being the independent one of Solomon 
Southwick, of unsavory odor and self- 
presented. Yates had 125,493 votes to 
2910 for Southwick — an unparalleled poll, 
substantially unanimous. He was in- 
augurated as governor January i, 1823. 

His administration, begun under such 
happy auspices, apparently, was highly 
creditable to him, so far as matters of 
State solely were concerned, conducted 
on lines both of economy and enterprise; 
the keynote being sounded, in his first 
message, recommending the encourage- 
ment of domestic industries, the vigorous 
prosecution of canal construction to its 
completion and the husbanding of expen- 
ditures. There were no grave crises to 
meet and no great measures to initiate; 
and, therefore, no opportunity afforded 
him for stupendous achievements, such 
as had been vouchsafed to Tompkins and 
Clinton ; but he was capable and honest 
throughout. Political complications, how- 
ever, were his constant vexation. A 
horde of clamorous office-seekers besieg- 
ed him ; factional quarrels worried him, 
while Young and Clinton — past-masters 
in invective — fusilladed him incessantly 
with fault-finding and raillery. Is it a 
wonder that he made mistakes and pro- 
voked enemies? His popularity waned to 
the vanishing point. He retreated, crest- 
fallen, from the fray. He neither sought 
nor secured a renomination. Young ob- 
tained the Republican nomination and 
Clinton, whose star was again in the as- 
cendent, marshalled Clintonites and Fed- 
eralists against him. They were "foe- 
men worthy of each other's steel." Clin- 
ton was elected, after a spirited and 
tumultuous contest, by a small majority. 
Yates, at the expiration of his term, 
retired to private life, re-opening his law 
office and interesting himself measur- 



77 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ably, but not engaging actively, in polit- 
ical affairs. He supported the adminis- 
trations of Jackson and Van Buren. His 
last public appearance was as chairman 
of an "indignation meeting" called by 
local Democrats to express their disap- 
probation of the rejection of Van Buren 
as Minister to England. He still devoted 
himself to the cause of higher education 
in the State. He had been instrumental 
in founding Union College, was one of its 
chartered trustees and remained in the 
Board until his death ; and was a Regent 
of the University from 1809 until 1833. 
He died at his home in Schenectady, 
March 19, 1837. He had married three 
times. His first wife was Mrs. Ann 
Ellice. of Schenectady ; his second, Maria 
Kane, of Albany; and his third, Ann 
Elizabeth De Lancey, of New York, who 
survived him. 



ASTOR, John Jacob, 

Fonnder of an Important Family. 

John Jacob Astor was born at Wall- 
dorf, near Heidelberg, Germany, July 17, 
1768. He was the son of a butcher and 
innkeeper at Walldorf, and at the age of 
sixteen followed the example of his elder 
brothers, and left home to seek his for- 
tune. In 1779 he repaired to London, 
and there obtained employment in the 
house of Astor & Broadwood, manufac- 
turers of pianos and flutes, where an 
elder brother was already established, 
their uncle being head of the firm. In 
1783 he took ship for the United States, 
where his brother Henry had settled as a 
butcher in New York, having as his sole 
capital a small lot of musical instruments. 
He became interested in the fur trade 
from the accounts of a German furrier, 
whose acquaintance he made on ship- 
board. Resolving to learn all that he 
could of the business, he obtained a situ- 
ation in the shop of a furrier in New 



York, and later commenced business for 
himself on Water street. Industry, enter- 
prise and business sagacity were marked 
qualities in the young trader. He visited 
London and connected himself with sev- 
eral of the large fur houses. His uncle 
secured his appointment as agent of 
Astor & Broadwood, in America, and he 
opened the first wareroom for the sale 
of musical instruments in the United 
States. He married Sarah Todd, a con- 
nection of the Brevoort family, a woman 
of foresight and ability, who shared in 
his business enterprises, and before the 
end of the century they had amassed a 
fortune of $250,000. 

Mr. Astor became a shipowner, carry- 
ing his furs to Europe in his own vessels, 
and bringing back profitable return car- 
goes. In 1809 he applied to Congress for 
aid in establishing trading posts from 
the Lakes to the Pacific, as a means of 
advancing civilization and of rendering 
American trade free from the monopoly 
of the Hudson Bay Company. A part of 
his scheme was to purchase one of the 
Sandwich Islands, and there establish a 
line of vessels to trade with India and 
China. Two expeditions were sent to 
open communication with the Indians of 
the Pacific coast, and the trading settle- 
ment "Astoria" was established at the 
mouth of the Columbia river, but the hos- 
tilities of 1812 supervened, and the plans 
were dropped. At the close of the War 
of 1812, Mr. Astor resumed his trading 
operations, greatly extending his bases 
of action, but never recurring to his plan 
of western settlement. He invested his 
surplus in land, which he foresaw would 
later be merged in the growing city of 
New York, and, as the time grew ripe, 
erected many substantial buildings. He 
retired from active participation in busi- 
ness affairs about 1835, and passed the 
remainder of his life in the performance 
of unostentatious acts of benevolence. 



7^ 




De WITT CLINTON 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Besides many liberal gifts to worthy 
objects during his lifetime, he left many 
bequests, the foremost of these being 
$400,000 to found the Astor Library, New 
York, and $50,000 to found the Astor 
House, VValldorf, Germany, an institution 
for the education and nurture of needy 
children, and an asylum for the aged 
poor. The house was opened in 1854. 
His property, which had attained im- 
mense proportions, at his death was 
mainly left to his younger son, William 
Backhouse; the elder son, John Jacob, 
being demented, was cared for and main- 
tained from the income of a fund of $100,- 
000 set apart for that purpose. John 
Jacob Astor died of old age, at his home 
in New York City, March 29, 1848. 



CLINTON, DeWitt, 

Political Leader, Constmctive Statesman. 

The Clinton pedigree is detailed in the 
biography of the first governor. DeWitt, 
a colossal figure in the opening years of 
the nineteenth century and a construc- 
tive statesman of the highest order, was 
born at Little Britain, Orange county, 
March 12, 1769. He was the son of Gen- 
eral James Clinton, of Revolutionary 
fame and legislative rectitude and of his 
wife, Mary DeWitt. Precocious in study, 
he entered after the preliminary training 
of the grammar school of his native town. 
Columbia College, as a junior, receiving 
the bachelor's degree in 1786, at the head 
of his class, the first that was graduated 
from the reorganized institution. Beyond 
the prescribed course, he engaged dili- 
gently in reading in letters, science and 
governmental history, in the further pur- 
suit of which he compassed that wide 
erudition for which he was distinguish- 
ed and which aided him materially in his 
public career. He was par excellence the 
scholar in politics. He was admitted to 
the bar in 1788, but his practice was 



spasmodic and he relinquished it in 1797, 
having early determined upon politics as 
his life's calling. Because of family ties 
and his own settled convictions, he affili- 
ated with the Republican party at the 
start, and professed his adherence to its 
principles throughout, notwithstanding 
his conflicts with the organization, in- 
cluding the formation of a party bearing 
his name and pledged to his interests. 

His political initiative dates from his 
appointment as private secretary to his 
uncle, the governor, in 1789, continuing 
until 1797. He was also secretary of the 
Board of Regents from 1794 until 1797 and 
of the board of commissioners of the forti- 
fications of the State ; these various posi- 
tions affording him a wide acquaintance 
with public men and enabling him to fam- 
iliarize himself with State affairs. His 
strenuous and illustrious public career, be- 
gins, however, properly with his election, 
at the age of twenty-eight, to the Assembly 
of 1798. As he stands upon its threshold, 
he is seen to be of striking physique, well- 
proportioned, stately of stature, with 
finely chiselled features, eagle-eyed, with 
expansive brow upon which loftiest am- 
bition has set its seal and dignified, at 
times even austere, manners. He is abso- 
lutely self-reliant ; with a royal will, his 
supreme endowment, compelling implicit 
obedience and enthusiastic following, his 
chief infirmity, intolerance of all opinions 
inconsistent with his own, and which 
later inspired enmity and provoked dis- 
aster, not yet having declared itself. His 
equipment for statesmanship was mani- 
fest. In the Assembly he at once assum- 
ed a leading role, influential in its action, 
and expressing himself in clear and for- 
cible English, with a spice of invective, 
but with small infusion of ornate periods 
— ever his style either with voice or pen. 
As a member of the Council of Appoint- 
ment, in 1801, he denied the exclusive 
right of the governor to nominate offi- 



79 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



cials, appointive by that body, and was 
chiefly instrumental in convoking the 
Convention, in which he was also the 
leading delegate, to settle the controversy, 
which it did by the constitutional con- 
struction that the Council had co-ordinate 
power with the governor in the regard 
indicated — an ill-advised interpretation 
that Clinton himself is said to have con- 
demned subsequently. Its animus was 
wholly partisan, as had been that of a 
previous Federalist council in disputing 
the same prerogative as exercised by 
Governor George Clinton. The latter 
named was returned to the gubernatorial 
chair in 1802 and the Legislature was 
strongly Republican in its majority. A 
vacancy occurring in the United States 
Senate, by the resignation of General 
Armstrong, the Legislature in Republican 
control, impressed by his partisan service 
and his approved capacity as a statesman, 
elected DeWitt Clinton to the succession 
on February 4th. His senatorial tenure 
was of brief duration, resigning, as he 
did, in December, 1803, to accept at the 
hands of the Council of Appointment, the 
mayoralty of New York City ; but it 
sufficed to introduce him as a formidable 
figure in national politics and to appre- 
ciate his standing as a statesman. Al- 
though not participating frequently in 
debate, he made several speeches upon 
exigent issues, that upon Spanish viola- 
tion of treaty stipulations for the free 
navigation of the Mississippi being con- 
sidered the ablest and most informing. 

The mayoralty, which attracted him 
from the Senate chamber was, at the time, 
a most dignified position, of judicial, as 
well as executive, functions, with much of 
patronage and emoluments far in excess 
of those he received at Washington. It 
was craved by men of the highest station 
and ability ; and the appointment was 
particularly gratifying to Clinton, whose 
finances were at a low ebb, although he 



had early married Maria, the daughter 
of Walter Franklin, a prominent New 
York merchant, who had brought him a 
considerable fortune. He was always 
careless, as well as generous, in money 
matters. Another and perhaps, the con- 
trolling motive in accepting the office, was 
his desire to further the aspirations of his 
uncle to whom he was ardently attached, 
for the presidency and who had been 
defrauded of the vice-presidency, as is 
alleged, by the machinations of Aaron 
Burr, in 1800; and as New York was to 
be a principal battle ground, it was well 
to have the Clintonian manager at hand. 
This was looking somewhat ahead, as 
Jefferson was certain to be renominated 
in 1804; but the vice-presidency was 
freely conceded to the governor, who was 
again elected thereto, in 1808, DeWitt 
remaining throughout the master-spirit 
of the Republican party in New York. 
His administration, the details of which 
need not here be dwelt upon was honor- 
able, and even brilliant, on both the ex- 
ecutive and judicial sides — the mayor's 
court being highly respected for the in- 
telligence and equity with which it dis- 
pensed justice. The metropolis has never 
had a more acceptable and efficient 
mayor than DeWitt Clinton through all 
his various terms. In 1807, he was re- 
moved by the spoils-hunting council ; was 
reappointed in 1808; displaced in 1810; 
restored in i8u ; and remained until, in 
1815, he was finally excluded- — this time 
by a Republican council, under circum- 
stances of extreme factional hostility to 
him. Meanwhile — dual office-holding still 
sanctioned — he had been a State senator, 
1806-11 : lieutenant-governor, 1811-12, and 
had suffered the most serious reverse of 
his life in his canvass for the presidency 
in 1812. 

That canvass, opening brightly in Clin- 
ton's view, went darkling to its close. He 
had, for years, cherished an ambition for 



80 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the presidency as, with his splendid gifts, 
he was warranted in doing, but had de- 
ferred efforts for its reaHzation, while his 
uncle's preferment was his chief concern ; 
but with the declining health and pass- 
ing of the vice-president, his own su- 
premacy of the Republican party in New 
York, and a considerable portion of it 
elsewhere in the north demanding a 
stronger man than Madison at the helm 
of state, as the war-cloud lowered, Clin- 
ton, prematurely, as it appeared after- 
ward, thought his hour had struck, and 
entered the lists hopefully. As the can- 
vass progressed, however, it was seen by 
impartial observers to be a losing game 
for him. The declaration of war against 
Great Britain popularized Madison in the 
south and west and reclaimed the fealty 
of a large majority of northern Republi- 
cans who had doubted the propriety of 
his renomination ; and this in accord with 
the pithy saying of Lincoln that "it isn't 
well to swap horses while crossing a 
stream." Madison still controlled the 
federal patronage, and the Virginia dy- 
nasty, with Jefferson, from his retirement 
at Monticello directing, was still deter- 
mined to perpetuate itself. Madison was, 
therefore, renominated by the Republican 
Congressional caucus with substantial 
unanimity. Clinton obtained a Republi- 
can nomination from the New York leg- 
islative caucus, it having been delayed by 
Governor Tompkins — himself a prospec- 
tive condidate for the presidency — until 
after the action of the Congressional 
caucus had been taken — a strategy to 
Clinton's disadvantage. Even among 
New York Republicans there was an 
undertone of dissent to Clinton's candi- 
dacy and that from two sources — certain 
of his warmest friends regarding it as 
premature and assuring him that he might 
easily secure the coveted succession in 
1816; and his enemies — the Livingstons, 
Erastus Root, the Marbling Men (Tam- 
N Y— Vol I— « 



many Hall) led by Sanford and Lewis 
bitterly antagonizing him. Having got- 
ten the nomination, however, he stood 
fast against both entreaties and threats. 
He had also been promised the support of 
the Federalists in other states, in some 
being formally nominated, in the default 
of a distinct candidate of their own, not 
so much because of their love for him as 
a protest against Madison's policies and 
with what they esteemed as the presi- 
dent's apostacy from their faith rankling 
in their hearts. Clinton appears to have 
wooed the Federalists, without recanta- 
tion of his political creed, although this 
was alleged against him. Without pur- 
suing the narrative of the campaign, ex- 
ceedingly personal and acrimonious in its 
incidents, it is to be recorded that in the 
national college all the states west and 
south of the Potomac voted for Madison, 
with Ohio, Pennsylvania, Vermont and 
six electors from Maryland — 128 in all. 
Clinton received four votes from Mary- 
land all from New York, New Jersey, 
Delaware and New England, except Ver- 
mont — a total of eighty-nine. It seems 
clear, in the review, that had Clinton been 
content to bide his time and kept strict- 
ly within party lines, he would have 
gained the prize he sought, four years 
later, but barring these, when 1816 dawn- 
ed it was beyond his reach. 

Henceforth, he belongs to New York, 
inuring her weal and exalting her glory. 
For the ensuing three years, he remains 
mayor of the city, discharging his official 
duties with conspicuous ability, but con- 
stantly under the fire of his enemies, the 
"Bucktails" (Tammany Hall and promi- 
nent up-state politicians) aiming at his 
removal, which they achieved in 1815, 
under circumstances peculiarly distress- 
ing to him, involved as he was in finan- 
cial difficulties. This was Clinton's 
downfall — so-called — but the rebound, as 
will be seen, far succeeded the height 



81 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPilY 



from which he fell. In his retirement, 
bereft of place and in straitened lot, yet 
cheered by his small but resolute band of 
admirers — the Clintonians, faithful in 
storm as in sunshine — he does valiant 
battle for that magnificent system of in- 
ternal improvements, the consummation 
of which is to be of infinite value to the 
State and to crown his name with per- 
ennial laurel. He is more than an advo- 
cate ; he is a crusader, as eager to pierce 
a channel for the flow of the waters of 
Erie to the Hudson, as was Coeur de 
Leon to wrest the holy sepulcher from 
Moslem thrall. 

So early as 1810 he was appointed one 
of the commission to explore the route. 
In 181 1 it submitted its report, favoring 
a canal and estimating its cost. In the 
same year, as senator, he introduced the 
bill, which was passed, to secure national 
aid for the enterprise and, with Gouver- 
neur Morris, was deputed to solicit it at 
the hands of Congress — a mission that to 
the credit of New York happily failed of 
its object. In 1812 the commissioners 
were authorized to borrow moneys and 
receive cessions of land ; but little was 
done in either regard, during the stress 
of war, and the scheme was generally for- 
gotten. But Clinton did not forget. 
From the moment that he left the mayor- 
alty, it became the darling object of his 
ambition. His efforts in its behalf chiefly 
brought about its undertaking and rallied 
to him an ardent following. Once more 
there were 

Honor, love, obedience 
And troops of friends. 

He was instant in season and out of 
season. He was in constant correspond- 
ence with men of influence, utilized the 
press, sought the aid of capitalists, in- 
spired public sentiment; and. at a great 
meeting of New York merchants, in the 
autumn of 1815 was appointed chairman 



of a committee to memorialize the Legis- 
lature. That memorial was formidable in 
statistics, weighty in argument, urgent in 
plea — a master-piece of rhetoric. "It re- 
mains," he said in his peroration, "for a 
free state to create a new era in history 
and to erect a work more stupendous, 
more magnificent and more beneficent 
than has hitherto been achieved by the 
human race." Monster meetings in var- 
ious sections ensued and the Legislature 
was fairly coerced to action. Wherever 
Clinton appeared he was hailed with ac- 
claim. When the Legislature met in 
January, 1816, the Canal Board was con- 
stituted, with Clinton at its head, with 
power to make surveys and estimates and 
inquire into the practicability of loans; 
and, a year later, upon its report the act 
authorizing canal construction was pass- 
ed, ground being broken in conformity 
therewith, at Rome on July 4, 1817, three 
days after Clinton was inaugurated as 
governor, he having been elected in 
March, with practical unanimity, the 
"Bucktails" acquiescing, receiving 45,310 
votes to 1479 for General Peter B. Porter. 
It was a return from Elba. 

The key-note of the governor's first 
address to the Legislature was the vigor- 
ous prosecution of internal improve- 
ments ; and work went bravely on, the 
"Bucktails" having been committed to it, 
by Van Buren's adroitness and so con- 
tinuing. Even when, in 1819, they ob- 
tained control of the canal board ; but, 
outside of this, movements political pro- 
ceeded less happily. Clinton's intolerance 
— the prime defect of his commanding 
will, fostered by his grievances — insti- 
tuted a reign of proscription more relent- 
less than any that had preceded it in the 
State. The Council of 1819, at his behest, 
beheaded every "Bucktail" in sight, in- 
cluding Attorney-General Van Buren, 
whose course had been that of concilia- 
tion rather than of contest, replacing them 



82 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



with Clintonians, some of Federalist ante- 
cedents. Other differences made the 
break final and irremediable ; and so when 
Clinton, renominated by citizen's bodies, 
presented himself for re-election, in 1820. 
he was confronted by an united Repub- 
lican party, with federal patronage at its 
disposal, and with Vice-President Tomp- 
kins, theretofore the most popular per- 
sonality in the State, as the opposing 
candidate. The campaign, with mutual 
bickering and recrimination attending it, 
resulted in Clinton's re-election by a 
meager majority, the vote in the eastern 
and western districts, where the advance 
of the canal was the oriflamme of battle, 
overcoming the adverse ballot in the 
middle and southern districts. It was 
Clinton's triumph solely; for the "Buck- 
tails" swept the legislature. He was vic- 
tor, not alone over Tompkins, but over 
himself as well — his genius as a states- 
man conquering his infirmity as a poli- 
tician. 

He was not a candidate in 1822, but 
was returned to the gubernatorial chair 
in 1824, and again in 1826, under similar 
political conditions to those already 
named, defeating Samuel Young in the 
one and William B. Rochester in the 
other instance, his signal majority, 16,359, 
over the first, named being largely due 
to the righteous indignation of the peo- 
ple, thus expressing itself at his removal 
as canal commissioner. On February 
18, 1825, President Adams tendered him 
the mission to Great Britain which he 
declined. 1825 was his year of jubilee, 
crowded with honors and rejoicings. His 
fame was nation-wide. State after State 
invited him to make addresses and com- 
plimented him with banquets. Ohio gave 
him magnificent ovation on the occasion 
of breaking ground for her inland water- 
ways : and, in the mellow October days, 
on board the "Seneca Chief," he led, from 



Buffalo, the grand procession that moved 
through the newly-opened channel past 
the waving banners, booming cannon 
and greetings, huzzahs and ceremonials 
on its banks, to New York har- 
bor, and from the prow of his "flag-ship" 
emptied the waters of Erie into the At- 
lantic as proudly as a Venetian doge cast 
his ring into the Adriatic. Governor 
Clinton's administration, covering in all 
twelve years, was of extraordinary prob- 
ity, dignity, enterprise and achievement, 
enrolling him among the foremost states- 
men of his age. It was within his juris- 
diction and at his impulse that civiliza- 
tion took mighty onward strides ; that 
agriculture, manufactures and commerce 
were stimulated ; that cities were evoked 
as by a magician's wand ; that education 
was encouraged and arts flourished — that 
New York became, indeed, the imperial 
commonwealth of the Union. In educa- 
tional and lettered circles, his distinction 
was as marked, as his offices in each had 
been thoughtful and beneficent. The de- 
gree of Doctor of Laws was conferred 
upon him by Rutgers College in 1819, and 
by his alma mater in 1824. He was a work- 
ing member of the Board of Regents; as 
its secretary, he drafted the report in 
favor of the incorporation of Union Col- 
lege ; and, in his messages to the Legis- 
lature, had uniformly insisted upon the 
betterment of the common school system. 
He had been promoter and president of 
the Free School Society of New York 
City — the genesis of its free public 
schools. He had been president of the 
Academy of Fine Arts, of the New York 
Literary and Philosophical Society, of 
the American Bible Society, before all of 
which, and at various college commence- 
ments — notably the Phi I'eta Kappa ora- 
tion at L^nion in 1823 — had delivered ad- 
dresses revealing the richness and the ex- 
tent of his learning; and, to the last, was 



83 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



an omnivorous reader and in constant 
correspondence with scholars in both the 
new and the old world. Early attached to 
the Masonic fraternity, he was unani- 
mously elected to the highest office in 
its national organization in 1816. 

Thus he stood, noble in person, spot- 
less in character, adorned with honors 
and with faculties still alert, the chief 
magistrate of the State he had exalted 
when the bolt fell and the great heart of 
DeWitt Clinton ceased to beat. He died 
suddenly at the executive residence on 
February 28, 1828. Amid the solemn 
hush of the moment, controversies were 
forgotten and enmities ceased, and friends 
and foes alike did homage to his great- 
ness. The official pageantry of his funeral 
was imposing. Eulogies were pronounced 
in all the principal cities and towns. At 
the meeting of the New York congres- 
sional delegation in Washington, Van 
Buren, who so often crossed swords with 
him, paid fitting tribute to his worth and 
gratitude for his work. "For myself," 
the Senator said, "so strong, so sincere 
and so engrossing is that feeling, that I, 
who, whilst living, never — no never! — 
envied him anything, now that he has 
fallen am greatly tempted to envy him 
his grave with its honors." The grief at 
his loss was universal ; and, it may fairly 
be said, that in the annals of New York 
there is no name more enduring. There is 
a bronze statue of heroic size on his grave 
in Highland avenue. Greenwood Ceme- 
tery, Brooklyn, and one in the Astor New 
Exchange Court Building, New York. 
He was the father of ten children, seven 
of whom attained maturity. His second 
son, George W., was mayor of Buffalo, 
United States district attorney, justice of 
the Superior Court and vice-chancellor of 
the State University ; and his son is a 
prominent lawyer of Buffalo and a dele- 
gate to the State Constitutional Conven- 
tion of 1915. 



HOSACK, David, 

Diatinguished Early-Day Snrgeon. 

Dr. David Hosack, one of the most 
notably useful and interesting characters 
of his day, was born in New York City, 
August 31, 1769, son of Alexander Ho- 
sack, a Scotch officer of artillery, who 
distinguished himself at the capture of 
Louisburg. 

His preliminary education was acquired 
in his native city and at Newark, New 
Jersey. He subsequently entered Colum- 
bia, and afterwards Princeton College, 
from which he was graduated before he 
had reached his twentieth year. Mean- 
time, he had begun his medical studies 
under the preceptorship of Dr. Richard 
Bayley, and he now continued them 
under Drs. Romayne, Post and Bard. He 
then completed a course in the Medical 
College of Philadelphia, from which he 
graduated in 1791. At the time of his 
graduation, it was believed by many that 
Alexandria, Virginia, was to become the 
national capital, and he located there and 
engaged in practice. After a year it was 
apparent that the town would not attain 
to its hoped-for distinction, and Dr. Ho- 
sack removed his family to New York 
City, while he went abroad for two years, 
studying in the University of Edinburgh 
(from which he received a medical de- 
gree) and under the most accomplished 
English specialists. On his return voy- 
age, he so successfully combatted an epi- 
demic of typhus fever aboard ship as to 
afford him a firm professional footing in 
New York City. In 1795 he was ap- 
pointed Professor of Botany in Colum- 
bia College ; in the following year was 
called to the chair of Materia Medica in 
the same institution, succeeding Dr. Wil- 
liam Pitt Smith ; and he occupied both 
positions until 181 1, when he resigned. 
In 1807 he became a member of the 
faculty of the College of Physicians and 



84 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Surgeons (now the Medical Department 
of Columbia University), but relinquished 
his chair at the end of the year to identify 
himself with the rival medical school. He 
subsequently returned to the College of 
Physicians and Surgeons, and was pri- 
marily instrumental in leading his pro- 
fessional associates into the new com- 
bined faculty organization, in which he 
took the chair of Theory and Practice of 
Physic, and later that of Obstetrics and 
Diseases of Women and Children. In 
1826 he retired, and, with others, organ- 
ized the Rutgers Medical School. He 
was at times physician to the New York 
Hospital and to the Bloomingdale Asylum 
for the Insane. 

Dr. Hosack was highly accomplished 
in his profession, and was regarded as 
one of the most progressive in its ranks. 
He was thoroughly unselfish in impart- 
ing his knowledge to his compeers, as 
well as to his students, and placed much 
of the fruit of his investigation and ob- 
servation in preservable form. One of his 
first publications (in 1807) was his lec- 
ture on "Surgery of the Ancients," de- 
livered at the initial session of the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons. From 1810 
to 1815 he was associated with his per- 
sonal friend and sometime pupil. Dr. John 
W. Francis, in the work of editing the 
"Medical and Philosophical Monthly." 
He published "Essays on Various Sub- 
jects of Medical Practice," "A .System of 
Practical Nosology," "Lectures on the 
Theory and Practice of Medicine," and 
"The Laws of Contagion." He was a rec- 
ognized authority upon the latter topic, 
with special reference to yellow fever, 
and his work received special apprecia- 
tion, being republished by the Royal So- 
ciety of London. He was a pioneer in a 
well-nigh untrodden field, that of pathol- 
ogy, antagonizing nearly all the accepted 
doctrines of the practitioners of the time. 
He was an innovator in the treatment of 



scarlatina, tetanus, croup and fever, and 
was among the first in America to bring 
the stethoscope into use. He was rarely 
skillful in surgery ; he preceded all Amer- 
ican surgeons in the successful tying of 
the femoral artery at the upper third of 
the thigh, and was among the first to 
check hemorrhage following an opera- 
tion, by exposure of the wound to the air. 
He was a quick follower after Jenner in 
the adoption of vaccination, and his prac- 
tice and utterances went far toward estab- 
lishing the remedy in the estimation of 
the profession, and eventually in the con- 
fidence of the people. He possessed all 
the attributes which mark the attractive 
and impressive teacher. The annalists of 
the time relate that his students awaited 
the lecture hour with keen anticipation, 
and that "his sonorous voice and earnest 
manner, and the changing expression of 
his face, his gestures and utterances, held 
the attention of his hearers, affording 
them what was an instructive entertain- 
ment rather than a didactic lecture, while, 
at the same time, no iota of instruction 
was withheld, nor any feature thereof be- 
littled by improper levitv or want of dig- 
nity." 

Given to the general fields of science 
and literature. Dr. Hosack was a leader 
among the advanced thinkers of his day. 
He was one of the founders and most 
active members of the New York His- 
tical Society, of which he was for several 
years president : and he was also promi- 
nently identified with the Literary. Philo- 
sophical and Horticultural societies. His 
interest in botany was a passion. While a 
student in England, he had for instructors 
the accomplished botanists, James Dick- 
son and William Curtis, and in his early 
professional life he devoted a large share 
of his attention to class and private in- 
struction in botanical science. His love 
for this pursuit was constant and fervent, 
as witnessed bv his Botanical Garden. 



85 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



which he laid out on the tract now lease- 
hold property of Columbia College, prac- 
tically bounded by the present Fifth and 
Sixth avenues, and Forty-seventh and 
Fifty-first streets. He performed a real 
service to science when (in 1794) he 
brought with him from Europe the first 
collection of minerals introduced into the 
country, and a duplicate of the Linnaean 
Herbarium, which is yet carefully pre- 
served in the Museum of the Lyceum of 
Natural History in New York. He was 
a genuine humanitarian, and he predated 
Elbridge T. Gerry and Henry Bergh in 
his reprobation of the ill treatment of 
children and animals, and in efforts for 
their protection. The Royal Society of 
London and that of Edinburgh conferred 
upon him a fellowship, and he received 
from Union College the honorary degree 
of Doctor of Laws. 

Dr. Hosack maintained an elegant home, 
and held weekly receptions after the ideals 
of the French salon. His guests were 
the most cultivated and fashionable peo- 
ple of the growing metropolis, compris- 
ing the men of science and affairs, the 
most accomplished matrons, and the most 
charming belles. Here frequently came 
two historic characters who were warmly 
attached to him — Alexander Hamilton 
and Aaron Burr, and he attended him 
first named to his tragical ending on the 
duelling ground at Weehawken, New 
Jersey. 

Dr. Hosack was twice married; (first) 
to Elizabeth Warner, of Princeton, New 
Jersey, and (second) to the widow of 
Henry A. Costar, of New York. He died 
in New York, December 22, 1835, at the 
age of sixty-six years. 



PORTER, Peter B.. 

Pioneer, Soldier, Statesman. 

In contemplating the subject of this 
sketch, the first, and, perhaps, the con- 
trolling, thought is that he is listed in 



the vanguard of that conquering march 
of the Puritan which, vital with the spirit 
of the town meeting, marshaled its forces 
at the close of the Revolution in the New 
England hills, bearing in its train the axe, 
the spelling book and the Bible, and, leav- 
ing detachments at successive outposts, 
and blazed its way, by the middle of the 
nineteenth century, from Plymouth Rock 
to Puget Sound. Nowhere did it release a 
goodlier company than that which halted 
in Western New York and there fash- 
ioned that generous civilization which 
after generations have enjoyed and which 
General Porter, as pioneer, soldier and 
statesman, was largely instrumental in 
enhancing. 

His pedigree was the herald of his 
achievement. The Porter family, distin- 
guished for centuries, alike in military 
annals and social rank, traces its descent 
from William de la Grande, who followed 
the banner of William the Conqueror 
from Normandy to England and therein 
acquired landed estate. His son Roger 
was "Grand Porteur" to Henry I. and 
from that office the modern name is de- 
rived. John Porter, the founder of the 
American branch, was a settler in Wind- 
sor, Connecticut, migrating thither in 
1637. His son Samuel was a merchant in 
Hartford and Hadley, Massachusetts, and 
his son Nathaniel served in the expedi- 
tion against Canada in 1708-09. Nathaniel 
Buell, Jr., was a merchant in Lebanon. 
Connecticut, and his son Joshua, the 
father of Peter Buell, was graduated from 
Yale College in 1754. lived in Salisbury, 
Connecticut, and there attained both civil 
and military honors. He was, for more 
than forty sessions, a member of the 
State Legislature and a judge of com- 
mon pleas for thirteen and of probate for 
thirtv-seven years. As colonel of the 
Fourteenth Connecticut Regiment he par- 
ticipated in the battles of Long Island, 
White Plains, Saratoga, Monmouth and 

86 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



other notable engagements of the Revo- 
lution. 

Peter Buell Porter was born in Salis- 
bury, August 14, 1773. He was gradu- 
ated from Yale in 1791 and was a student 
at law in the famous Litchfield School, the 
first of its kind established in the country, 
and that by Judge Tapping Reeve in 
1784. In 1795 he was admitted to the bar 
of this State and "hung out his shingle" 
in Canandaigua, then an infant but aspir- 
ing village, but already the capital of On- 
tario county, which had been erected 
from Montgomery in 1791, and known 
for the high intellectual quality of its citi- 
zens. Bright, ambitious and energetic, 
Porter soon had a practice commensurate 
with his youth and the needs of the com- 
munity ; but not, of course, especially re- 
munerative. Of pleasing manners and 
public-spirited, he was, from the first, ex- 
ceedingly popular; and, in 1817, was ap- 
pointed clerk of the county, performing 
the duties of the office with exceptional 
fidelity and acceptability. In 1802 he was 
a member of Assembly from Ontario 
and Steuben, then a single district. In 
1804 he committed himself to the support 
of Aaron Burr, in that wily politician's 
desperate canvass for governor against 
Morgan Lewis, the regular nominee of 
the party, to rehabilitate his political 
status ; and, as a consequence of his 
action in the premises, Porter was de- 
prived of his clerkship shortly after the 
accession of Lewis. His local popularity, 
however, assured him an election to the 
Eleventh Congress (1809-11) and he was 
re-elected to the Twelfth. In the Eleventh 
Congress, although a new member, he 
was made chairman of the Committee on 
Foreign Relations, and, in that capacity, 
urged resistance to the aggressions of 
Great Britain, making a report favoring 
an immediate declaration of war and sus- 
taining it with signal force and eloquence 
in debate. In 1810, relinquishing his law 



practice, he removed to Black Rock, 
which remained his residence until he 
made his final home at Niagara Falls in 
1839. On March 18, 1810, by joint resolu- 
tion of the Legislature, he was appointed 
one of the commissioners to explore a 
route for a canal from the Hudson to 
Lake Erie ; and of that great enterprise, 
from start to finish, he was an earnest 
advocate and efficient promoter. Thence- 
forth also he gave much of his time, 
effort and capital to the landed and com- 
mercial development of the lake and river 
region in which Buffalo has become one 
of the principal emporiums of the conti- 
nent, and the cataract at Niagara, cele- 
brated among the natural wonders of the 
world, turns the wheels of multitudinous 
industries; thereby, as "the first citizen" 
of that magnificent domain, earning its 
respect and gratitude. In 1818 he married 
Letitia Preston Breckenridge, of Scotch 
and English ancestry, a daughter of John 
Breckenridge, in the line of Alexander 
Breckenridge, an original settler of the 
Blue Ridge territory of Virginia. 

When the second war with Great Britain 
was on, the fighting blood of the Porters 
made instant response to the call of the 
country. As a representative. Porter had 
vigorously enunciated the cause of the 
republic ; as a soldier he was ready to 
vindicate it by his sword. In the con- 
flict he had invoked, he did valiant deeds 
and won unfading laurels. Obtaining 
leave of absence from Congress, he acted, 
for a time, as quartermaster-general of 
the New York militia; but, early in 1813, 
Governor Tompkins appointed him a 
major-general of State troops, operating 
on the northern frontier, where he was 
aide-de-camp for a season to General (ex- 
Governor) Lewis, but, for the most, in 
command of a division in the campaigns 
of that section, which was a sanguinary 
arena of battle, with alternate defeats and 
victories on either side, witnessing as well 



87 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the blunders of Dearborn and the hollow 
boastings of Alexander Smith, the skill- 
ful strategy of Jacob Brown and the con- 
summate generalship of Winfield Scott. 
General Porter was as wise in council as 
intrepid in combat. He inspired the con- 
fidence of all the troops under him and 
notably kindled enthusiasm for the honor 
of the flag and love for his person in the 
bands of Seneca Indian allies whom he 
often led into action. His record sliines 
with his valor at Chippewa and else- 
where, and with the crowning glory of 
his military career in the relief of the 
beleaguered garrison in Fort Erie, it 
being said that there is no other case in 
history where a besieging army has been 
routed by a single sortie. In recognition 
of his heroic service, Congress voted him 
a gold medal ; the State presented liim 
with a sword, and President Madison 
commissioned him a major-general in the 
United States army. At the end of the 
war, with much of public acclaim attend- 
ing him and particularly favored by the 
governor whose policies he had loyally 
furthered, he was appointed Secretary of 
the State, remaining such for a vear — 
February, 1815, to February, 1816 — when, 
having for the third time been elected 
to Congress — the Twenty-fourth— he re- 
turned to his seat therein and continuing 
to distinguish himself on the floor by his 
lucid and persuasive speech. 

In 1817, many Republicans desired the 
nomination of General Porter for gov- 
ernor, but the State convention was con- 
trolled by the friends of DeWitt Clinton 
and he became the candidate of the party 
Tammany Hall, however, refused to ac- 
cept Clinton and placed General Porter 
upon a ticket of its own, a proceeding 
which he disclaimed emphatically, and he 
declined to co-operate in any way with 
the Wigwam faction or to do anything to 
forward his own election. The ballots 
for him were therefore almost wholly con- 



fined to New York City. The "up-state" 
Republicans — some of them reluctantly — 
and the Federalists supported Clinton, 
who was elected by a large majority, 
without, however, entailing any serious 
harm upon Porter, whose bearing was 
that of entire self-respect and manliness, 
under extremely embarrassing circum- 
stances. In the quadruple presidential 
canvass of 1824. he favored Clay; and 
thereafter acted with the opposition to the 
Democracy, sustaining the administration 
of John Quiijcy Adams ; and, when the 
Whig party was organized, he aligned 
himself with it. As showing the esteem 
in which he was held, he was, in 1824, 
chosen a Regent of the University of the 
State of New York and occupied that hon- 
orable position until his resignation in 
1830. in 1827, Erie county sent him to 
the Assembly, his second term in that 
body. On May 28, 1828, he entered the 
national cabinet as Secretary of War, re- 
tiring March 4, 1829, at the expiration of 
President Adams's tenure. His adminis- 
tration of the department, though brief, 
was marked by the display of the execu- 
tive ability, sterling honesty and practical 
good sense characteristic of him, no mili- 
tant issue disturbing the even tenor of his 
way. In 1841, he was a member of the 
New York Electoral College and cast his 
vote for Harrison and Tyler — his last con- 
spicuous public act. 

His declining years were devoted to the 
interests of the region, which had for so 
many years been his residence and which 
he had done so much to enhance its prog- 
ress and prosperity. His death took place 
March 10, 1844, at Niagara Falls. He left 
a son. Colonel Peter Augustus Porter, 
who fell at Cold Harbor, as he was gal- 
lantly leading his regiment against the 
Confederate entrenchments. A grand- 
son, the Hon. Peter Augustus Porter, 
maintains the family prestige in private 
and public station. 



88 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



PAULDING, James K., 

Essayist, Poet, Cabinet OfBcial. 

William I. Paulding thus concludes the 
anthology which he compiled some fifty 
years ago, under the title of "Literary 
Life of James K. Paulding:" "His son 
and editor convinced that there is essen- 
tial merit (as certainly there is marked 
individuality) in much that he has writ- 
ten, puts forth the present and forthcom- 
ing re-publications, in the hope and per- 
suasion that it will be interesting to a 
new generation of his countrymen ; and 
that there is some matter withal, which 
rings true to nature and the human heart, 
that the literature of the English tongue 
will not readily sufifer it to pass into 
oblivion." Although Paulding is now, in 
large measure, a forgotten author, and 
cannot assume to rank with the immor- 
tals, a review of his works justifies the 
estimate of his son, and they still com- 
mend themselves to litterateurs and his- 
torians. He is especially remembered as 
a pioneer in that American literature that 
came into being in the opening years of 
the last century of which Charles Brock- 
den Brown was the herald and Washing- 
ton Irving the dominant figure, preceding 
the group of poets — Halleck, Drake, Per- 
cival and Bryant — with all of whom 
Paulding was an intimate associate. He 
was of the guild of letters throughout his 
career. 

James Kirke Paulding was born at 
Great-Nine-Partners, Dutchess county, 
where his parents had found refuge from 
Tory rancor, on August 22, 1778, the son 
of William Paulding who had married 
on July 25, 1762, Catharine, daughter of 
Nathaniel Ogden, of New Jersey ; and of 
their nine children, he was the eighth. 
The Paulding family was eminently re- 
spectable and intensely patriotic, but 
whether of English or Dutch origin does 
not clearly appear. William I. supposes 



it to be of the former, it being originally 
spelled "Pawling," but he adds that his 
father had a memorandum to the effect 
that his grandparents spoke Dutch and 
attended the old church at the entrance 
of Sleepy Hollow where the preaching 
was entirely in that language. Joost, or 
Joseph, Pauldinck is set down as "free- 
man of the city of New York," so early 
as 1683 and from him the descending line 
is fairly traceable to William Paulding, 
who, after a sea-faring life in his younger 
days, in which he became a captain of 
merchant vessels plying from New York 
to various ports, settled in 1767, at Tarry- 
town, was in comfortable circumstances 
prior to the outbreak of the Revolution, 
a member of the first "Committee of 
Safety" in New York and a commissary 
in the provincial forces. He was ruined 
financially by advances made to the 
State for the subsistence of troops, was 
lodged in jail as an insolvent debtor, ap- 
pealing to the Legislature for relief and 
died, in 1825, in his ninetieth year, virtu- 
ally a pauper. He is described as given to 
extensive reading and abounding in 
stories of sea adventure and of the troub- 
lous years of "the Neutral Ground." The 
mother was of remarkable intelligence 
and energy, who "kept the wolf from the 
door," although there were periods of 
severe privation for the family. She 
lived to see all her children well situated, 
and some of them wealthy and promi- 
nent, dying November 25, 1830. En passitn, 
John Paulding, famous as the chief captor 
of Andre, was first cousin of James. 

The future essayist, poet and novelist 
on his return from Dutchess county, 
where he says that, even in his infancy, 
he imbibed that taste, almost passion, for 
the charms of nature which, to the end 
was one of his most cherished enjoy- 
ments, was brought up in Tarrytown. 
His routine education was of the scantiest 
kind, confined to brief attendance at a 



89 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



log school house, some miles from his 
home, but he had access to a few books 
of his father and to a larger supply at 
an uncle's house, where he staid for a 
time. With these he made eager acquain- 
tance, confessing subsequently his prin- 
cipal obligation to Goldsmith's "Citizen 
of the World," which he read and re- 
read many times, declaring that if he had 
any taste or style they were due to that 
charming work of the most delightful of 
all English writers. While he yet abode 
in Tarrytown, he does not seem to have 
had any definite employment of head or 
hands. He styled himself "the most con- 
spicuous idler in the village ;" but he did 
read of English letters whatever he could 
find ; rambled, as did Irving, among the 
woods and hills and mused upon the 
river's bank, becoming withal an expert 
hunter and fisherman — not, after all, the 
worst training for his observant vision 
and creative intellect. His musings were 
of rather a melancholy cast in a region, 
picturesque, indeed, but with every spot 
therein teeming with the outrages of 
Tory raider or British trooper, inciting 
in him an hostility to "the mother coun- 
try,'' that doubtless was not without in- 
fluence in inclining him to the Republi- 
can party, of which he became a valorous 
champion in the press, although never en- 
gaging actively in its contests at the polls. 
Poverty still lingered on the hearthstone, 
accentuating his forlorn state, of which 
he subsequently says : "I never look back 
on that period of my life, which most 
people contemplate with much regret as 
the season of blossoms, without a feeling 
of dreary sadness. From the experience 
of my early life, I never wish to be young 
again ;" and his biographer reflects that 
"thus he went mooning about and passed 
into the rhyming stage of existence about 
as unfit for a struggle with the great 
world as any youth could well be." 

But the change in prospects and in per- 



formance came when he reached his eigh- 
teenth year, providing a livelihood and 
kindling into flame the spark of literary 
talent of which he was already possessed. 
His elder brother, William, well situated 
and not without political influence, pro- 
cured him a position in the United States 
Loan Ofiice in New York, the duties of 
which he fulfilled competently ; and he 
was at once ushered into a set of superior 
young men, which included Henry Bre- 
voort Jr., Gouverneur Kemble and above 
all, Washington Irving, the closest friend- 
ship with whom was continued through- 
out their joint lives. One of his sisters 
had married William Irving, who was 
subsequently a representative in Con- 
gress, a man of wit and worth, whose 
reputation would have been greater had 
it not been overshadowed by the genius 
of Washington. Paulding soon became a 
prolific, versatile and popular writer. His 
first attempt was in verse — "Dawn in the 
Highlands of the Hudson," not published, 
however, until more than fifty years after 
its composition. On November 15, 1818, 
he married Gertrude, daughter of Peter 
Kemble, a retired merchant of New York, 
and sister of his friend Gouverneur, vvfith 
whom he lived in mutual confidence and 
blessed companionship until her death, 
May 25, 1841. He maintained his resi- 
dence in New York, save for his official 
absences in Washington, until 1845, when 
he retired to a country seat at Hyde Park, 
in his native county, and there died of the 
infirmities of age, April 6, i860, in his 
eighty-second year. 

The entire period was one of immense 
literary production, compassing many 
lines — essays, novels, poems, political dis- 
quisitions. Reserving com.ment to the 
end, his principal publications are here- 
with listed chronologically. From 1802 
until 1805, he contributed many articles 
of a miscellaneous character to tha 
"Morning Chronicle," of New York, a 



90 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



newspaper of which Peter Irving was the 
proprietor. The first member of "Sala- 
magundi, or the Whim-Whams and 
Opinions of Launcelot Langstaff and 
Others," the co-operate work of Wash- 
ington Irving and Paulding (alluded to in 
the Irving sketch) appeared January 24, 
1807, continuing at intervals during the 
ensuing year and were assembled in two 
volumes. Other works are as follows : 
"The Diverting History of John Bull and 
Brother Jonathan" — a political satire 
(one volume, 1812) ; "The Lay of the 
Scottish Fiddle, a Tale of Havre de 
Grace" — primarily a parody of the writ- 
ings of Walter Scott, but with sprightly 
descriptions of American scenery and 
manners (one volume, 1813) ; "The 
United States and England" — a pamphlet 
of 115 pages defending American institu- 
tions from the attacks of the London 
"Quarterly Review," (1815); "Letters 
from the South by a Northern Man" — 
travel sketches (one volume, 1817) ; "The 
Backwoodsman" — a poem of 3300 lines in 
six books (1818), severely criticized for 
looseness and vagaries, but abounding in 
felicitous pictures of Hudson Highlands, 
Alleghany ranges and Ohio reaches, 
while devoid of a sustained plot and 
wearisome with digressions, of which the 
author seems conscious, as he thus de- 
picts in the sixth book, his "humble 
muse" 

She loves to linger through the livelong day, 
Plucking each wild flower blooming on her way; 
To stop where'er she lists and gaze around, 
Where winding stream, or verdant vale, is found; 
Chase the wild butterfly on vagrant wing, 
And hunt cool shades where merry warblers 

sing, 
Wasting long luscious hours in doing naught, 
Caught in the cobweb of some airy thought. 

"The Backwoodsman" was a decided 
financial failure; "Salamagundi," second 
series, wholly by Paulding (1819-20); 
"A Sketch of Old England by a New Eng- 



land Man" — comparing things in England 
and this country much to the detriment 
of the former (two volumes, 1822) ; "Ko- 
nigsmarke, the Long Finne" — a novel 
located in the Swedish colony of the Dela- 
ware (two volumes, 1823) ; "John Bull in 
America or the New Munchausen" — a 
caricature of the British traveler in the 
United States (one volume, 1825) ; "Ihe 
Merry Tales of the Three Wise Men of 
Gotham" — humorous and satirical (one 
volume, 1826) ; "The New Mirror for 
Travelers" — a quiz of the fashions and 
manners of the day (one volume, 1828) ; 
"Tales of the Good Woman" — short stor- 
ies (one volume, 1829) ; "Chronicles of the 
City of Gotham"—- idem (one volume, 
1830) ; "The Lion of the West," (drama, 
produced 1831) ; "The Dutchman's Fire- 
side Novel" — (one volume, 1831) ; "West- 
ward Ho!" story of a broken family of 
Virginia making good in Kentucky (two 
volumes, 1832) ; "Life of Washington," 
for youthful readers, simple in narrative 
and sympathetic in appreciation (two 
volumes, 1835-36) ; "Slavery in the 
United States" — vindicatory of the insti- 
tution (one volume, 1836) ; "The Book of 
St. Nicholas, translated from the Dutch 
of Dominie Nicholas Aegidius Oude- 
narde" — short stories and Dutch legends 
appropriate to the holiday season, vivid 
and entertaining (one volume, 1838) ; "A 
Gift from Fairy Land" — fairy tales (one 
volume, 1838) ; "The Old Continental, or 
the Price of Liberty" — a tragic novel (two 
volumes, 1846) ; "American Comedies" — 
four in number, of which Paulding wrote 
but one. the other three by his son, of 
which the latter says, "It had been wiser 
in both to keep them all out of print," 
(one volume. 1847) ; "The Puritan and his 
Daughter," a novel, his last work of 
length (two volumes, 1849). In addition, 
there are a large number of fugitive con- 
tributions to newspapers and periodicals, 
trenchant political articles and pamphlets 



91 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and occasional poems, the titles of which him for the headship of the bureau, the 
need not be specified, and also sketches duties of which were confined to routine 
of public characters, including those of matters, no serious complications with 



Madison, Franklin, Randolph, Washing- 
ton, Forsythe and Jackson, originally 
contained in correspondence with friends, 
but which ultimately found their way into 
type. This fecund output of Paulding's 
pen, traverses a wide range of thought 
and a variety of themes, all distinguished 



foreign nations arising, barring the dis- 
pute with Great Britain over the Maine 
boundary for a time threatening, but hap- 
pily adjusted. He was diligent, efficient 
and honest in his place, though somewhat 
of a martinet, as his ordination of stricter 
discipline in the navy attested. He built 



for originality in conception and ingenu- battleships, improved the quality of naval 

ity of treatment and through them runs supplies and introduced certain adminis- 

the thread of apt and eloquent expression ; trative reforms. He retained the confi- 

but it is clear that his enduring fame must dence of and was frequently consulted in 



chiefly rest upon his intimate communion 
with nature and his exquisite interpreta- 
tion of her beauties and sublimities. This, 
at least, entitles him, to an admirable place 
among American authors and should per- 
petuate his name. The characteristics of 



public concerns by the president. 

Upon his retirement, he returned to 
New York, where within two months, he 
was saddened by the death of his wife, 
and abode there until four years later, 
when he purchased the Hyde Park estate, 



his style generally are thus stated tersely where he passed his later years amid rural 



by Washington Irving, in writing to Bre- 
voort of "his usual stamp of originality, 
his vein of curious and beautiful thought, 
his terms of picturesque language, 
mingled with the faults that arise from 
hasty and negligent composition." 

His political writings, faithful to the 
principles of his party, with an intelligent 
comprehension of exigent issues, vigorous 
and even aggressive in statement, gave 
him popular acclaim and official prefer- 
ment. His entire service to the federal 



delights, with his pen in hand almost to 
the last moment. Paulding, as his son 
recalls him, was a man a little above the 
medium height, strongly built about the 
bust and arms, but not so powerfully in 
the lower limbs ; though in the early 
sports of the Salamagundians noted as a 
leaper. In his youth, he had soft and fine 
black hair, but, toward the last was abso- 
lutely bald. His complexion was dark 
and his eyes of an unmixed brown. His 
profile was more striking than his full 



government measured nearly forty-four face and might have passed, according to 



years, dating from his clerkship in 1797. 
On April 28, 181 5, he was appointed sec- 
retary of the Board of Navy Commis- 
sioners, resident in Washington, as such, 
until November 8, 1823, when he was 
made Navy Agent at New York by Mon- 
roe, and so remained until he was com- 
missioned by Van Buren, with whom his 
relations had been cordial for years, as 
Secretary of the Navy, June 25, 1838, 
retiring at the expiration of the presi- 
dential term, March 4, 1841. His experi- 
ence in naval affairs had amply equipped 



fancy, for an old Indian chief, or an an- 
cient philosopher. This was before he 
allowed his beard to grow with the ap- 
proach of old age. The engraving of him, 
from a drawing by Joseph Wood, is that 
of a handsome man in middle life. In 
disposition he was affectionate, but unde- 
monstrative ; tender in his domesticities, 
sincerely attached to a limited circle of 
friends, and sparkling in conversation. He 
was occasionally hot in temper, but never 
unjust in judgment. He had his preju- 
dices, but, whether ill or well founded, 



92 




DANIKL D. TOMPKINS. 

GoVl'l-liDl- "t NfW Y.il-k IMI? IT. VU-O I'l-csilli-Iil i.f lllilnl Sl;ilrs ISIT l.SL' 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



they were honest. In politics he was 
earnest and even extreme in his views, 
and was an American to his hearts core. 
In every relation of life, he was sound, 
healthful and honorable. The best biog- 
raphy of him — partially autobiographical 
— is by his son James Irving Paulding. 
It is inspired by filial affection, but is 
notably impartial in tone and free from 
extravagant eulogy. 



TOMPKINS, Daniel D., 

Jnrist, AVar Governor, Vice-President. 

Daniel D. Tompkins is chiefly cele- 
brated as the great "war governor," in the 
second conflict of the country with Great 
Britain, as Andrew and Curtin and Mor- 
gan are so styled for their service during 
the Civil War; but he was also the re- 
cipient of many other honors won by his 
skill as a politician and his capacity as a 
lawyer and statesman. Unlike some of 
his compeers, he owes nothing to family 
prestige or inherited estate. He was a 
self-made man. His father, Jonathan G., 
was a hard working farmer in Westches- 
ter county, of local prominence, as one of 
three staunch Whigs in a strong Tory 
community. Daniel D. was born in the 
town of Scarsdale, June 21, 1774. His 
early education seems to have been main- 
ly of his own providing, in the intervals 
from labor on the farm, to which, like 
many boys of good parts he was sub- 
jected ; but he managed to prepare him- 
self for college ; and was graduated from 
Columbia in 1795. In 1797, he was ad- 
mitted to the bar, opened an office in New 
York and married a daughter of Mangle 
Minthorn, a wealthy and esteemed citi- 
zen — an event which may be credited to 
his self-making, to say nothing of the pro- 
pitious stars which are said to shine upon 
a seventh son, as he was. The alliance 
certainly betokens influences that enabled 
him to obtain an excellent standing in 



his profession and to point the way to 
political preferment, for which he had 
early inclination and suitable endowment. 
He was of fine talents, legal and lettered 
culture, prepossessing appearance and 
ingratiating manners, with a positive 
genius for both friendship and politics. 
The gateway of success swung open to 
him easily. 

He identified himself with the Repub- 
lican party, coincidently with his major- 
ity and its organization, and actively in- 
terested himself in the canvass of Jeflfer- 
son for the presidency. Preferment 
waited upon him in 1801, when he was 
elected to the state convention that met 
at Albany on October 13, not to revise 
the Constitution in toto, but for two 
specific purposes, viz: to redistrict the 
Legislature and to definitely construe the 
relative powers of the governor and his 
associates in the Council of Appointment 
respecting nominations for offices. Con- 
trary to the claim of both Governors 
Clinton and Jay, that the right of nomi- 
nation vested solely in the executive, with 
confirmation by the Council, the con- 
vention incorporated in the Constitution 
an article inhering nominations in all the 
individual members of the Council. This 
was strenuously opposed by Tompkins — 
probably the youngest member of the 
body — his view being doubtless the 
proper one ; instanced here simply to note 
his acumen and courage — only thirteen of 
his associates agreeing with him — a vote 
upon which he felicitated himself in the 
convention of 1821, that abrogated the 
Council. His labors in the convention did 
not seriously interfere with his profes- 
sional or political activities; and, in April, 
1804, he was chosen a representative in 
the Ninth Congress, in which, however, 
he did not take his seat, being appointed 
an associate-justice of the Supreme Court 
by Governor Lewis — an unexampled 
tribute to judicial merit — for Tompkins 



93 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



was but thirty years old — but not, it may 
safely be inferred, without consideration 
of his political merit as well. Whatever 
may have been the motives inducing his 
appointment, it was amply justified by 
his bearing on the bench. Learned, even 
at his age, in the law — with its equities 
as well as its technicalities — and clear in 
its expression, he compares favorably 
with his colleagues, all of a high judicial 
standard ; and his opinions at terms of 
court are still cited with respect. But at 
nisi-prius, where close perception of the 
validity and value of evidence and instant 
rulings are demanded, and tests of knowl- 
edge are more instant, if not more severe 
than in appellate tribunals, he shone. An 
expert of human nature, fertile in re- 
sources, adept in detecting the merits of 
a case, helpful to lawyers and litigants 
alike, and courteous in his deportment, he 
attained a phenomenal popularity — a 
popularity which extended beyond the 
court-room and pervaded all classes. He 
was loved, as well as admired, by his 
fellow-citizens. 

With such equipment, public opinion 
naturally turned to him as a candidate for 
elective office. Lines were drawn rigidly, 
at the time, between the two Repuljlican 
factions, the one led by DeWitt Clinton 
and Ambrose Spencer, and the other by 
the Livingstons, known as "Lewisites," 
determined on the re-election of Governor 
Lewis, as stated elsewhere (Biography of 
Lewis). Largely owing to the popular 
favor in which Justice Tompkins was 
held, the Clintonites prevailed in the Re- 
publican legislative caucus, and Tomp- 
kins was nominated, while Governor 
Lewis was the choice of the opjjosition 
element in his party, the Federalists mak- 
ing no nomination. The contest was a 
spirited one, but Tompkins was elected 
by a majority of 4,083 votes in a total poll 
of 66,053. And thus began one of the 



most notable administrations in the 
annals of the State lasting for eleven 
years, notable for the constantly increas- 
ing popularity of its head, the obstacles 
it encountered and overcame, and the 
great things it accomplished. The State 
testified its fealty to the person and poli- 
cies of Tompkins by three successive re- 
elections. In 1810, he defeated Jonas 
Piatt, the Federalist orator and leader of 
Western New York; in 1813, Stephen 
Van Rensselaer, the mighty patroon and 
general; and, in 1816, Rufus King, the 
eminent United States Senator — all by 
significant majorities. 

The governor was beset by the stric- 
tures of Clinton, alienated from him be- 
cause he would brook no dictations in 
patronage, nor assist in his (Clinton's) 
canvass for the presidency ; and, at times, 
he was confronted by the Federalist as- 
cendency in the Council of Appointment 
and by Federalist hostility to war 
measures. Despite the attitude of Clin- 
ton, he dispensed the patronage uprightly 
and creditably ; and, despite Federalist 
obstruction, obtained legislation essential 
to the welfare of the State and the honor 
of the republic. Two acts of his adminis- 
tration redound to his lasting credit — the 
one of educational, the other of civil, im- 
port. In his speech to the Legislature, 
at the session of 181 1, he repeated sug- 
gestions he had previously made concern- 
ing the management of the common 
school fund ; and, in accordance there- 
with, a law was enacted authorizing the 
governor to appoint five commissioners 
who should report to the ensuing Leg- 
islature a plan for the organization of 
a common school system. Upon the re- 
port of this committee, monumental in 
educational annals, the New York system 
was created, which, under the original su- 
pervision of Gideon Hawley, has develop- 
ed into the most extensive, efficient and 



94 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



progressive educational system in the 
land. He had the satisfaction also, in the 
last year of his administration of promot- 
ing and signing the law for the abolition 
of domestic slavery in New York, that 
took effect on July 4, 1827. 

A striking evidence of the purity of his 
administration and his personal integrity 
is witnessed in his action, in 1812, on the 
bill chartering the Bank of America. It 
established that corporation in New York, 
with a capital of $6,000,000. No wrong 
per se would have been done by legalizing 
it and the benefits it might confer upon 
the business community were manifest ; 
but the methods that its projectors em- 
ployed to gain their end were vicious and 
reprehensible in the extreme. They offer- 
ed the State an enormous bribe, aggre- 
gating a gift of $600,000 outright, under 
specified conditions, and a loan to it of 
$1,000,000 and one to farmers of an equal 
amount on landed security, while they 
shamelessly corrupted the Legislature by 
the distribution of stock among its mem- 
bers. While the bill was pending, the 
governor protested earnestly against its 
passage; but without avail. It was push- 
ed through the Assembly by a vote of 
fifty-eight to thirty-nine and a test vote 
in the Senate indicated that that body 
would also approve it ; but on March 27, 
as a flash from a clear sky he invoked his 
prerogative and prorogued the Legisla- 
ture for fifty-five days, assuming diplo- 
matically that, to his knowledge, no at- 
tempts at bribery had succeeded, and that 
"it was far from him to assert that the 
charges were true, but that it would be 
well before the bill passed to examine 
and refute them." The Senate, however, 
on reconvening May 21, promptly en- 
dorsed the bill, by a vote of seventeen to 
fourteen and sent it to the Council of Re- 
vision, consisting of the Governor, the 
Chancellor and five justices of the Su- 



preme Court, the Governor not, as after- 
ward, possessing the sole veto power. In 
the Council, he continued his opposition, 
having two justices with and three 
against him, leaving the Chancellor 
(Lansing) with the casting vote; he hur- 
ried to Albany, from which place he had 
been absent temporarily, at once con- 
curred with the three justices and the 
tainted charter was confirmed. The de- 
feat of the governor, however, was tanta- 
mount to victory, signally enhancing him 
in public esteem, preventing a similar 
soiling of the Legislature for many a year, 
and contributing materially to the aboli- 
tion of the Council by the Constitutional 
Convention in 1821. 

But, as already intimated, the instant 
glory and permanent fame of Daniel D. 
Tompkins rest chiefly upon his conduct 
as "war governor." As such, his patriotic 
ardor, his splendid courage and his execu- 
tive ability had full play. The act declar- 
ing war against Great Britain met his 
cordial approval and quick response; and, 
in the interim between legislative ses- 
sions, he took full charge of the situation, 
calling out the militia and dispatching 
them to the Niagara frontier; for the dis- 
astrous results of the expedition he being 
in no wise blamable Further embar- 
rassed, but not dismayed, by the obstruc- 
tive action of the Assembly, he did all in 
his power to aid the general government 
in its military operations, especially on 
the northern border, and to provide for 
the defense of the State, advancing his 
personal means and pledging his personal 
credit to these ends .A.t the spring elec- 
tion in 1814, the Republicans secured a 
majority in each house of the Legislature 
and thenceforth it was in complete ac- 
cord with the governor in the vigorous 
prosecution of the war. Both men and 
money were forthcoming and New York 
troops rendered efficient service in ensu- 



95 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ing movements. The militia were classi- 
fied and their pay increased ; and especial 
attention was paid to the safeguarding of 
New York City, where forces of from 
ten thousand to fifteen thousand were 
concentrated, the governor himself tak- 
ing command, under a commission as 
major-general of the United States army. 
The alarm there, however, was quieted 
by the abandonment of the contemplated 
attack by the enemy The governor was 
"instant in season and out of season," his 
herculean efiforts contributing in consid- 
erable measure to the termination of hos- 
tilities ; and, as history especially records, 
"by his energy, executive ability and per- 
sonal pecuniary sacrifices he did as much, 
perhaps more, than the Administration 
itself on the borders of Canada." 

His services received grateful recogni- 
tion. His name was on many tongues 
for national promotion President Madi- 
son invited him to the cabinet as Secre- 
tary of State, which offer he declined in 
view of his obligations to his own State. 
He was unanimously nominated for the 
presidency by the Republican members 
of the New York Legislature and was 
generally regarded as the candidate of 
the northern wing of the party; but the 
Virginia regime was still dominant in 
its national councils and Monroe was 
slated to succeed Jefferson and Madison 
— Tompkins being unanimously nomi- 
nated for Vice-President by congres- 
sional caucus. In the electoral colleges 
he received, with Monroe, 183 of the 207 
votes; and, as again nominated, in 1820, 
218 of the 232 votes then cast. Thus, he 
was for eight years the second officer in 
the nation. It is never worth while to 
describe the nominal dignity and the real 
insignificance of this position. The Vice- 
Presidency seems only to be a lottery of 
death. P>ut three of the eminent men 
who have filled it have gone directly from 
the Senate chamber to the White House, 



while five have been thus transferred by 
the passing of the President. It is suffi- 
cient to say of Tompkins, as of the rest, 
that he was an excellent presiding officer, 
without opportunity to exhibit his ad- 
mirable executive capacity. While yet 
Vice-President he permitted himself to 
become the Republican candidate for 
governor in 1820; but his opponent, De- 
Witt Clinton, as the champion of canal 
construction, outmatched Tompkins' still 
phenomenal personal popularity, and was 
elected by the small majority of 1,587 
votes. Tompkins was also president of 
the New York Constitutional Convention 
in 1821, in whose debates he participated 
to some extent, particularly distinguish- 
ing himself in his advocacy of manhood 
suffrage. He retired to private life on 
Staten Island, March 4, 1825, and, three 
months later, June 11, died there. Over 
his last sad days, charity draws the veil. 



VAN BUREN, Martin, 

Politician, Statesman, Freiident. 

From the viewpoint of the witless scrib- 
bler and the ribald rhymster of 1840, Mar- 
tin Van Buren, the eighth President of 
the United States and the first citizen of 
New York to reach that elevation, is 
solely a knavish politician and a greedy 
spoilsman; but in the clear historic per- 
spective, he appears, net only as a singu- 
larly sagacious politician, but also as a 
brave, conscientious and truly great 
statesman. Shepard. his most intelligent 
biographer, while not according him su- 
preme rank as a President with Wash- 
ington, Jefferson and Lincoln, places him 
well up in the second, with Madison, the 
younger Adams and Jackson — far above 
the mediocrities and accidents. 

He was born at Kinderhook, near the 
Hudson, December 5. 1782, while the air 
was yet vibrant with the echoes of the 
Yorktown guns, the son of Abraham Van 



96 




<? 7 2-^^^ .^^^^.^^^.^^^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Buren, of Dutch descent, a reputable 
farmer and innkeeper, a patriot of the 
Revolution and an early adherent of Jef- 
fersonian democracy. His mother, whose 
maiden name was Maria Hoes, came from 
a family not without distinction in Hol- 
land and was then the widow of one Van 
Alen, whose son, James J., attained prom- 
inence as a lawyer, judge and congress- 
man. Martin's early associations were 
with the independent yeomanry, as well 
as with the tenantry of the Van Rens- 
selaer manor, both of whom fought for 
freedom. Clever, from the start, but 
without means for a college course, he 
was, perforce, content with the common 
school and academy of the village. At 
the age of fourteen he entered the law 
office of Francis Silvester, and, in 1803, 
completed his studies with William P. 
Van Ness, a counsellor and federal judge, 
in New York, returning to Kinderhook 
as a partner of his step-brother, Van 
Alen. He soon obtained an enviable 
standing at the bar and, having hardly 
passed his majority, was contending with 
such famous pleaders as Elisha Williams, 
Thomas P. Grosvenor and Jacob R. Van 
Rensselaer. Benjamin F. Butler, in draw- 
ing a comparison between him and Wil- 
liams, says: "Williams had the livelier 
imagination. Van Buren the sounder 
judgment. Van Buren was his (Wil- 
liams) superior in analyzing, arranging 
and combining the isolated materials, 
in unraveling the web of intricate affairs, 
in eviscerating truth from the mass of 
diversified and conflicting evidence, in 
softening the heart and moulding it to his 
purpose and in working into the judg- 
ments of his hearers the conclusions of 
his own perspicuous and persuasive rea- 
sonings." Williams, himself, said to his 
young rival: "I get all the verdicts and 
you get all the judgments." In 1808 he 
was made surrogate of Columbia county, 
the first office he who held so many was 
N Y-voi 1-7 97 



given ; and that was strictly within the 
line of his profession. Within the year 
he moved to Hudson and was there 
residing in 1815, with increasing suc- 
cess, when he was appointed attorney- 
general, having already in 181 2 been 
elected to the State Senate. In 1816 he 
settled in Albany, where he remained 
until 1829, when he virtually ceased prac- 
tice with a towering reputation both at 
}iisi pruis and the appellate courts, and as 
a constitutional lawyer as well. He had 
acquired a competent estate, that his 
thrift and prudence subsequently resolved 
into a fortune, to which speculation con- 
tributed little, if anything, and venality, 
nothing. 

Van Buren was a born politician. He 
was of ingratiating address, a "good 
mixer," a close observer of events and 
tendencies, an infallible mind-reader and 
of abiding convictions in any cause in 
which he enlisted. Politics were ebullient 
when he came upon the stage. Federal- 
ism had done its stupendous work in 
establishing the Union indivisible and in- 
destructible, but, as a party, was gasping 
to its death. The Republicans, robust 
and virile, had struck their first effective 
blow, in democratizing the government, 
by the election of Jefferson to the Presi- 
dency. Van Buren did not hesitate in 
announcing his fealty to democracy (the 
Republican party) and, with his magnetic 
quality, speedily became the master of its 
organization in his locality, writing its 
platforms, directing its conventions and 
managing its campaigns. Within ten 
year, he was its leader in the State, and 
by 1823 had originated and was the con- 
trolling spirit of the Albany Regency, 
the celebrated junta of able men — Marcy, 
Butler, Croswell. Flagg cf al — that for 
many years, ruled the party absolutely, 
"observing a high standard of the public 
service and of undoubted personal integ- 
rity," to which Thurlow Weed, its most 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



formidable antagonist was constrained to 
pay tribute in "that he had never known 
a. body of men who possessed so much 
power and used it so well." Van Buren 
was chosen Senator by the Clintonians, a 
faction of the Republicans, but shortly 
separated therefrom, in support of Gov- 
ernor Tompkins and his vigorous war 
measures and in defence of the Madison 
administration. 

Young as he was — not yet thirty — he 
went easily to the front as a debater, 
wrote the address in behalf of Tompkins's 
second re-election, favored the construc- 
tion of the Erie canal, although DeWitt 
Clinton was its sponsor, promoted the re- 
turn of Rufus King, the great Federalist, 
to the United States Senate, giving good 
reasons therefor; and voted to instruct 
the New York representatives in Con- 
gress to oppose the admission to the 
Union of any State, without the prohibi- 
tion therein of slavery as a condition 
precedent. In 1816 he was chosen as a 
Regent of the University, serving until 
1829. In 1819 he was removed as attor- 
ney-general, the Clintonians being in the 
majority of the Council of Appointment. 
He was elected February 6, 1821, a Sena- 
tor of the United States, and was also 
chosen from Otsego county to the Con- 
stitutional Convention, which met at Al- 
bany in August. This was a distinguished 
body of jurists and publicists including 
James Kent, Ambrose Spencer, Abraham 
Van Vechten, Elisha Williams, Ogden 
Edwards, Nathan Sanford, Daniel D. 
Tompkins (president), Henry Wheaton, 
Jonas Piatt and others. Its majority was 
Republican. Its purpose was to advance 
democracy in the organic law. No one 
participated more frequently in its delib- 
erations than Van Buren; and by his ex- 
alted station, his party primacy, his legal 
knowledge and illuminating speech, he 
was conspicuously instrumental in formu- 
lating its conclusions. To him the aboli- 



tion of the execrable Council of Appoint- 
ment and the cumbersome Council of Re- 
vision, and that of the freehold qualitica- 
tion for electors ; the increase in elective 
and the reduction of appointive offices, 
with the consequent curtailment of execu- 
tive patronage are largely, if not princi- 
pally, due. And, it is well to note in this 
connection, that his action in the conven- 
tion goes far to relieve him of the charge 
that he was a voracious spoilsman. He 
was not responsible for the spoils system. 
The Federalists, especially in this State, 
had encouraged it. It was an institution 
before his day. That, in general, he con- 
formed to the prevalent usage that "to 
the victor belongs the spoils" is true; but 
that he did something to abate its evils 
and never made nor asked for incapable 
or corrupt appointments for politics sake 
is also true. Quantum sufficit. 

Van Buren took his seat in the United 
States Senate, December 3, 1821 ; was re- 
elected in 1827, and resigned January i, 
1S29. His career therein, if not the most 
brilliant, is one of the most commanding, 
in congressional annals. His speeches 
were model expositions of political prin- 
ciples — certainly devoid of the "non-com- 
mittalism" unadvisedly alleged against 
him. For a time Andrew Jackson was his 
colleague and between them an intimacy 
was woven vital to their individual prefer- 
ment and the national weal. In the re- 
construction of parties, subsequent to 
Monroe's era of good feeling," Van 
Buren is to be credited with the authori- 
tative definition of the Democratic creed 
as that of the strict limitation of execu- 
tive functions and hostility to internal 
improvements by the general government 
and for the imposition of a lower rather 
than a higher tariff. He was universally 
recognized as the chief organizer of the 
party and its congressional leader as he 
was also, par excellence, the manager of 
Jackson's canvass for the presidency and 



98 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



his destined successor Van Buren ac- 
cepted the nomination for governor, at 
the demand of that section of his party 
known as "Bucktails" and was elected by 
a majority of more than thirty thousand 
over Judge Smith Thompson, the candi- 
date of the National Republicans, or 
Adams men. He was inaugurated Janu- 
ary I, 1829. His message to the Legisla- 
ture, although informed with partisan- 
ship, evinced an acurate knowledge of 
State concerns and was positive in its 
recommendations for pushing the work 
of the canals and for the creation of the 
'"safety-fund"' system of banking. His 
tenure was brief. He resigned in March 
to become United States Secretary of 
State — that office, at the time, being re- 
garded as a stepping-stone to the presi- 
dency. Jefferson, Madison, Monroe and 
John Quincy Adams had ascended from 
it and Clay, who held under Adams, was 
a perennial presidential nominee. In his 
department. Van Buren made honorable 
record in perfecting a number of com- 
mercial treaties advantageous to this 
country ; and he was the trusted coun- 
sellor of Jackson, in shaping the policies 
and editing the papers of the administra- 
tion, as Hamilton was of Washington. 
His resignation came as an incident in 
the remodeling of the cabinet, in 1831 — 
in driving from it the mischievous hench- 
men of Calhoun — Van Buren based his 
action, frankly, upon the impropriety of 
an avowed candidate for the presidential 
succession remaining therein. He was 
then appointed minister to the court of 
St. James — a recess appointment. Arriv- 
ing in London in September he sojourned 
there about six months. He was not bur- 
dened with diplomatic duties but was 
feted in aristocratic and lettered circles 
to which his affable manners as well as 
official station gave him access. Late in 
January, 1832, his nomination was re- 
jected by the Senate, Calhoun, in the 



chair, casting the decisive vote against 
him. That vote was a gun that recoiled 
upon those who shotted it. Popular in- 
dignation at the insult rose to fever heat 
and affection for him upon whom it was 
visited swept into enthusiasm. His vin- 
dication was without delay. "You have 
broken a minister, and elected a vice- 
president," said Benton to a Senator who 
had voted against confirmation. At the 
national Democratic convention in May, 
V^an Buren received 208 votes for vice- 
president out of a total of 283. He had 
presented his letters of recall March 22 ; 
had dined with the King, and, after a 
leisurely continental tour, arrived in New 
York, July 5. He was rapturously greet- 
ed and immediately engaged in the cam- 
paign. The result was never doubtful. 
Jackson received 219 and Van Buren 189 
electoral votes, the whole number being 
287, the difference between the two being 
accounted for by the 30 votes of Penn- 
sylvania going to William Wilkins, of 
that State. 

The vice-presidency which, with a cer- 
tain dignity attached to it, as nominally 
the second office in the government, but 
in reality the most inconsequential, could 
give Van Buren no additional prestige as 
a statesman ; but as no other vice-presi- 
dent has been, he was still the main ad- 
viser of the president and his heir appar- 
ent ; therefore, with undiminished influ- 
ence as a politician. His ability and 
courtesy as a presiding officer met with 
general commendation. As the time ap- 
proached for the presidential nomination, 
a Southern schism, including the South 
Carolina nullifiers, declared itself against 
the Jackson-Van Buren regime. It was 
occasioned partly by Van Buren's anti- 
slavery inclination, within constitutional 
limitations, pronounced when the prohibi- 
tion of slavery on the national domain be- 
came a burning question. The malcon- 
tents nominated Hugh L. White, a Ten- 



99 



NCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



nessee senator for president ; but when 
the regular Democracy assembled at Bal- 
timore, May 20, 1835, all the States ex- 
cept South Carolina, Alabama and Ten- 
nessee, being represented, Van Buren 
was nominated unanimously for the chief 
magistracy. The Whigs named General 
Harrison. At the polls, Van Buren ob- 
tained 762,678 votes as against 735,650 
for all other candidates combined. His 
majority in New York was over 28,000. 
In the electoral colleges Van Buren had 
170 votes, Harrison "]},, White 26, and 
Webster (a Massachusetts Whig defec- 
tion) 14. 

At the outset of his administration, 
Van Buren encountered a financial crisis 
of appalling proportions. Inflation, ex- 
travagance and air-castle building had 
been followed by vanished values, crum- 
bling securities, shin-plasters, dispelled 
dreams, wide-spread bankruptcy and dis- 
aster — the crash of '37 The cry for gov- 
ernmental relief was multitudinous and 
menacing. Van Buren faced the situa- 
tion resourcefully and manfully. His 
message to the Congress marked the ker- 
nel of his political wisdom and is among 
the greatest of American State papers. 
He enunciated emphatically a cardinal 
principle of Jefifersonian democracy that 
government could not and should not help 
the people to earn their living; that value 
could not ensue without labor, and that 
industry, economy and good sense must 
cope with the emergency. He stood in- 
flexibly for a specie basis to the currency 
and against the revival of the national 
bank ; and compelled the adoption of the 
sub-treasury scheme — the government its 
own banker. This the grand monument 
of his administration still stands secure. 
Other of his achievements were the strict 
observance of international obligations 
incident to the Canadian rebellion ; the 
pre-emption of the public domain by 
actual settlers; the arbitration of the 



claims of American citizens upon Mex- 
ico ; and the removal of the Seminoles 
and other Florida Indians to territory 
west of the Mississippi. Upon the whole, 
his administration was prudent, honest 
and eminently statesmanlike, in a time of 
extraordinary perplexity and trouble. Be- 
fore its end, industries had revived and 
commercial distress had abated. Pros- 
perity had dawned, but memories of the 
night were still fresh and poignant. They 
were the bulk of the capital utilized by 
the Whigs in 1840 — the impulse of the 
campaign of which Carl Schurz fairly 
says that there "was more enthusiasm 
and less thought than in any American 
presidential canvass ;" in which Van 
Buren's principles were denounced, his 
personality belittled and the seemly 
adornments and entertainments of the 
White House represented as shameless 
prodigality, and an aping of royal state — 
a campaign of vengeful harangue, boister- 
ous song, monster processions, with log 
cabins and cider barrels in the van. 

His party supported Van Buren loyally, 
it anxiously ; for the portents were not 
propitious. It renominated him unani- 
mously in May. He was badly beaten in 
November, obtaining but 60 electoral 
votes to 234 for Harrison. He even lost 
New York, which had never before de- 
serted him. He bore his defeat with that 
severe and smiling mien which, under all 
circumstances, he exhibited; and retired 
to his estate at Lindenwald, in his native 
county, which, for years, was the Mecca 
of the radical Democracy — "Barnburn- 
ers" — not unlike Monticello and Mont- 
pelier to the party of an earlier epoch. 

As yet the leader of his party nation- 
ally, he was presented to its convention 
in 1844 for a third nomination ; but South- 
ern delegates ranged themselves almost 
solidl}' against him because of his oppo- 
sition to the annexation of Texas and 
forced the adoption of the two-thirds rule 
100 




Cc-'tyU -t^'i-^/'yC i-l-^ 






ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



— the bete nntr of major and the sweep- 
stakes of minor candidates. On the first 
ballot, Van Buren was accorded 146 
votes, 13 more than a majority; but these 
dwindled until, on the ninth, James K. 
Polk, a very "dark horse,"- won the rib- 
bon. Four years later the rift between 
"Barnburners" and "Hunkers," in New 
York, had widened to a chasm, which 
could not be bridged. The former bolt- 
ed the nomination of Cass and renewed 
that of the ex-president. In August, the 
Free-Soil convention at Buffalo, Van 
Buren, being acceptable to it, as having 
approved the VVilmot proviso, placed him 
at the head of their ticket with Charles 
Francis Adams as second. At the elec- 
tion, in November, Van Buren received 
291,263 votes, Cass 1,220,504 and Taylor 
1,360,099. The personal popularity of 
Van Buren was distinctly shown in New 
York, which recorded 120,510 votes for 
him to 114,318 for Cass, thus assuring 
Taylor's triumph. Thenceforth, Van 
Buren lived, content upon his estate, and 
voted both for Pierce and Buchanan, his 
love for the Union, at the moment, su- 
perior to his anti-slavery convictions. He 
was verging on his eightieth year, at the 
breaking out of the Civil War, but sym- 
pathized cordially with the North and 
upheld the early measures of Lincoln for 
the salvation of the republic. He died 
at Lindenwald, July 24, 1862, and is bur- 
ied in the Kinderhook Cemetery. He 
had, in 1807, wedded Hannah Hoes, a 
kinswoman of his mother. She died in 
1819. Faithful to her memory, he never 
remarried. She bore him four sons, the 
eldest of whom, John, was attorney-gen- 
eral of the State and famous as a poli- 
tician and stump orator, few Americans 
being his superiors in invective, wit and 
eloquence. Van Buren's life has been 
written by Holland, Bancroft, Jenkins in 



"Governors of New York," Shepard in the 
"American Statesmen" series (decidedly 
the best) and by Davy Crockett, a ridicu- 
lous and scurrilous libel. 



IRVING, Washington, 

Essayist, Historian, Diplomat, 

Washington Irving was, for more than 
a half-century, the widest known and 
best beloved of American authors. It is 
an open question whether he is not still 
entitled to primacy among the literati of 
the land. Certainly, New York exalts the 
fame and cherishes the memory of him 
who informed her history with romance 
and invested her "banks and braes," her 
rippling streams and woodland haunts 
with legendary charm. He was born in 
the city of New York, April 3, 1783, the 
eighth son of William Irving, who traced 
his descent from William De Irwyn, 
armor-bearer of Robert Bruce, and of 
Anna Saunders, the granddaughter of an 
English curate. They were married, in 
1766, while he was a petty officer in an 
armed packet, plying between Falmouth 
and New York ; and, two years later, they 
settled in the latter city, he engaging in 
trade and acquiring a moderate fortune, 
most of which he, being a zealous Whig, 
lost during the British occupation, both 
ministering meanwhile assiduously to the 
distress of American prisoners. 

Irving, of whom his mother had said 
at his birth that "Washington's work is 
ended and the child shall be named after 
him," was but a few months old when 
the British evacuation occurred. The 
future metropolis was a place of less than 
25,000 inhabitants clustered around the 
Battery and straggling toward outlying 
cornfields and truck gardens. Dutch cus- 
toms and Dutch architecture, with their 
gables and dormers, interspersed with 
the statelier mansions of the English 



lOI 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



gentry, still prevailed ; but it was vital 
with Revolutionary memories and the 
activities of an independent State. Aside, 
however, from the brilliant intellectual 
quality of the group of statesmen, who 
were to mould a nation, its ambitions 
were commercial, rather than scholarly, 
and it was almost wholly devoid of liter- 
ary taste or culture. These were yet to 
be evoked and that largely by the genius 
of Washington Irving 

His upbringing was in a household 
whose head was a God-fearing man, 
highly esteemed for his probity, of a truly 
affectionate nature, but a Presbyterian 
deacon of pronounced orthodoxy, severe 
as a Covenanter in his family regime 
strict in his requirements of attendance 



even the classics — but fiction and current 
English literature. He familiarized him- 
self with "Robinson Crusoe," "Don 
Quixote," the "Arabian Nights," et id 
oinnc genus. All stories of travel and ad- 
venture especially fascinated him and fed 
his longing "strange countries for to see," 
as he wandered along the wharves and 
watched the ships depart for European 
shores or "furthest Ind." In frequent 
Hudson river rambles, he stored his mind 
for the limning of "Sleepy Hollow" and 
the creation of "Ichabod Crane" and "Rip 
Van Winkle" and he made journeyings 
to the forests of the Mohawk and the 
wilds of the St. Lawrence, enjoying the 
hospitalies of Albany town and Saratoga 
and Ballston Springs by the way; for he 



at church exercises and rigidly set against was an accomplished society young man. 



anything that savored of amusement or 
frivolity. The mother was of gentler 
tone, tender to her children and sympa- 
thetic with their sports and joys, of the 
elastic creed of the Episcopalians, to 
which they also inclined, Washington 
being secretly confirmed at an early age. 
He is described as being full of vivacity, 
drollery and innocent mischief. He be- 
trayed a liking for the theatre and kin- 
dred diversions, in which he indulged 
without his father's consent or even 
knowledge. Between the conflicting views 
of his parents, he seems to have come 
to little harm, although he was doubt- 
less thereby disinclined to serious stud- 
ies or pursuits. His education was of 
most desultory fashion. He hated the 
routine of the class room and was through 



agreeable in person and conversation, a 
favorite of and pure in his relations with 
the gentler sex. 

With such excursions as he made in 
the realms of nature and of letters he 
could, before he was twenty, turn a neatly 
worded phrase, or clever bit of verse, had 
penned some boyish plays, in which he 
showed his nascent wit and humor and 
was thoroughly possessed of the passion 
for writing— cacocthes scribendi. Not- 
withstanding the dictum of Dr. Johnson 
and the experience of Stevenson, it is 
true that great writers are born rather 
than made ; and Irving is one of these. 
His first literary venture was a series of 
letters with the nom de plume of "Jona- 
than Oldstyle," which he contributed in 
1802 to the "Morning Chronicle," a jour- 



with it before he was sixteen, with grade nal then recently started by his brother 



probably not much beyond that of the 
grammar school. He read some law in 
the ofifice of Josiah Ogden Hoffman and 
managed to be admitted to the bar, but 
hardly attempted practice. He read, how- 
ever, at random, many books — not theo- 
logical treatises, nor philosophical dis- 
quisitions, nor dry historical pages — not 



Peter. They were satires upon the stage, 
plainly imitative of Addison, but with 
much of original conception, and attract- 
ed considerable attention. They were 
crude, but promising Irving's health 
somewhat frail and his longing for travel 
induced, in 1804, a trij) to Europe for the 
benefit of the one and the gratification 



102 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of the other. He was absent from home 
about two years. His tour was fruitful in 
incident, observation and delight. He 
saw many places and conversed with 
many famous men and women. He made 
prolonged stays in all the countries he 
visited and caught the local coloring of 
each — from Parisian gayeties and Napo- 
leonic glitter, the gleam of Italian lakes 
and the luster of Italian art, the pictur- 
esque scenery of the Rhine, the glory of 
the Alpine peaks and the historic glamour 
of London streets and monuments. His 
fascinating person, his ingenuous spirit 
and his charm of manner gave him the 
entree of the best society everywhere and 
made him a prime favorite therein. In 
Rome he contracted a lifelong friendship 
with Washington Allston, the celebrated 
American painter ; in Paris, he saw Ma- 
dame de Stael ; in London, the theatre 
attracted him ; he heard Keene and 
Cooke and was presented to Mrs. Sid- 
dons, then growing old, but still the great- 
est of tragediennes. He studied French, 
in which he subsequently became pro- 
ficient and "picked up" something of 
other Latin tongues. From things old 
and new, grave and gay, his plastic mind 
received impressions that were embodied 
in his works in engaging form. With 
vivid experience and renovated health, he 
set sail for New York, arriving there in 
February. 1806. 

A time of dawdling now ensues — a 
little thumbing of law books, an occa- 
sional jcu dcsprit in the newspapers, 
strolls along the Hudson, visits to Balls- 
ton Springs, discreet companionship with 
the "bloods" of the town, the "lionizing" 
of the drawing room, with devoir to its 
gentle womanhood, a brief campaign 
among the pot houses of the politicians. 
a vain attempt to obtain a petty office at 
Albany — withal the dreamy slumber of 
genius preceding its awakening. The 
first outward evidence of his choice of a 



career was his collaboration, with his eld- 
est brother William, in the publication of 
"Salamagundi," a semi-monthly period- 
ical, which ran through twenty numbers, 
brisk in humor, keen in wit, pleasantly 
reckless in satire, descriptive of the doings 
and follies of the vicinage. It took the 
city not only, but distant places as well, 
by storm, with its grandiloquent purpose 
"simply to instruct the young, reform the 
old, correct the town and castigate the 
age." Its separate contributions are not 
all distinctly identified, but much that 
Irving did is clearly recognized and in 
them, as Charles Dudley Warner, in his 
charming biography, says, "may be traced 
the germs of nearly everything that he 
did afterward; in it he tried the various 
stops of his genius ; he discovered his 
own power; his career was determined; 
thereafter it was only a question of 
energy or necessity." 

The necessity came and with it the 
energy. In 1809 his "History of New 
York, from the Beginning of the World 
to the end of the Dutch dynasty," by 
"Diedrich Knickerbocker" — a conception 
of immortal humor — appeared. This 
composite of verities and whimsicalities 
brought him instant favor and fame, al- 
though, at the first, the Dutch aristocracy 
were indignant at its raillery of their for- 
bears — the shade of Wouter von Twiller 
seeming to stand at Diedrich's side, with 
pudgy finger, upbraiding him. This feel- 
ing of resentment, however, soon sub- 
sided, amid the universal acclaim, and 
their anger turned to mirth at the de- 
licious caricatures of their quaint ances- 
tors. Irving was singularly felicitous in 
announcing Diedrich as the chronicler, 
as he was in all the pseudonyms he se- 
lected — "Jonathan Oldstyle," "Anthony 
Evergreen" "Simon Senex" and "Geof- 
frey Craon" himself — as happy as Dick- 
ens in fitting names to the quality of his 
characters. In 1810 he wrote a biograph- 



103 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ical sketch of Thomas Campbell, prefac- readers of two continents. Irving was 
ing a Philadelphia edition of the subject's offered the editorship of more than one 
poems. About this time he interested 
himself in business with two of his 



brothers which, at the breaking out of 
the war with Great Britain, began to 
have unfortunate issue and later became 
calamitous, init which stimulated his pen 
to the earning of his own livelihood and 
to the assistance of his brothers in their 
adversities. In 1813 he edited the 'Ana- 
lectic Magazine," to which he contributed 
biographies of the naval commanders of 
America. In the fall of 1814, Federalist 
as he was, but earnestly enlisted for the 
prosecution of the war, he became the aide 
and military secretary of Governor Tomp- 
kins, with the rank of colonel, serving 
about four months, when he applied for a 
commission in the regular army : but hos- 
tilities ceasing, in February, 181 5, fore- 
closed the appointment ; and, in May of 
that year, he went to England to consult 
and aid his brother Peter on business 
matters and to visit his sister Sarah, the 
wife of Henry Van Wart, of Birming- 
ham. From various inducements, he re- 
mained abroad seventeen years. 

This was a period of lettered associa- 
tions, activities and recompenses — the 
efflorescence of his life. Among his friends 
were the elder Disraeli, Southey, Camp- 
bell, Moore, Hallam, GifTord, Milman, 
Rogers ; and above all, Walter Scott, who 
early appreciated his genius, invited 
him to Abbotsford and testified his afTec- 
tion by many gracious offices. The 
"Sketch Book" was begun in 1819, the 
first instalment containing "Rip Van 
Winkle," published in America, in May. 
and the whole completed in September, 
1820. It was reproduced in England by 
Murray, the leading British publisher, 
who also reprinted the Knickerbocker 
history — both hailed cordially by "Blach- 
ards," the "Quarterly" and other oracles 



magazme, which he felt obliged to de- 
cline. "Bracebridge Hall," for the copy- 
right of which Murray paid one thousand 
guineas, appeared in 1822 and "Tales of 
a Traveller," for which Irving received 
£1,500 in 1824. From 1815 until 1820 he 
resided in England, with occasional ex- 
cursions to the continent; a portion of the 
time in Liverpool, occupied with the 
financial embarrassments, and solicitous 
about the health of his brother Peter, 
with some concern in regard to his own ; 
but mainly in London, welcome in all 
the best houses, associating with the fore- 
most scholars, statesmen and soldiers ; 
captivating public attention at the mo- 
ment when Scott and Byron and the lake 
poets were the "bright, particular stars" 
of the literary firmament ; and hearing 
echoes of his celebrity from this side of 
the Atlantic. He was somewhat of an 
invalid ; his writing was fitful, but dili- 
gent, when the inspiration was on ; and 
the product that which has been men- 
tioned. In 1823 he made an extended 
tour of Germany, for his ailment's sake, 
sojourning for several months at Dres- 
den, within its artistic environment, with 
some attendance upon the prim little 
Saxon court and enjoying a choice inti- 
macy with the Fosters, an especially re- 
fined and cultivated English family. In 
July, 1823, he abode in Paris, still en- 
amored of its pleasures, noting with in- 
terest the accession of Charles X. and 
making Talma, the king of the stage, his 
friend. 

The four copiously fruitful years of 
Irving's life now follow. They were 
years spent in Castilian libraries and 
amid Moorish memorials. In February, 
1826, Alexander H. Everett, United States 
minister to Spain, commissioned him to 
translate the historical documents, col- 



of review and rapturously received by the lected and edited by M. Navarette from 

104 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the papers of Las Casas and the journals 
of Columbus. Settled for the time in 
Madrid, the result of Irving's labors was, 
not a translation merely, but the "His- 
tory of the Voyages and Discoveries of 
Christopher Columbus," published in 
1828. This was succeeded by the "Con- 
quest of Granada," the "Alhambra," 
"Legends of the Conquest of Spain" and 
the "Lives of Columbus and his Com- 
panions." "Mahomet and his Succes- 
sors," the material for which was col- 
lected in Madrid, was written later and 
given to the press in 1850. All these 
works, with their historic accuracy in 
romantic setting, their richness of style, 
through which runs the vein of purity 
peculiarly Irving's own, constrained the 
meed of critics and scholars and allured 
the patronage of the public. Their sale 
was enormous, with corresponding profits 
to publisher and royalties to author. 
Toward the close of his residence in 
Spain, he received the appointment of 
secretary of legation at the Court of St. 
James and, after some hesitation, accept- 
ed it. In April, 1830, the Royal Society 
of Literature awarded him one of its two 
annual gold medals in recognition of emi- 
nent literary service, the historian Hal- 
lam obtaining the other, and the Univer- 
sity of Oxford conferred upon him the 
degree of Doctor of Civil Law, which, it 
is said, the modest recipient never used. 
He retired from his diplomatic post, in 
September, 1831, and. in May, 1832, re- 
turned to New York, where he was met 
with numerous tributes of regard. A ban- 
quet, notable for the brilliant company, 
which honored the most famous literary 
man that America had produced, was 
given him. Many similar invitations 
were proffered him by other cities, which, 
with his usual shrinking from public 
demonstrations, he declined. Desirous to 
acquaint himself with the country, from 
which he had so long been exiled, he 



made an extended tour through the South 
and West and wrote "A Tour of the 
Prairies," "a romance of reality" that re- 
mains the best description of the explora- 
tions and adventures, the land and life of 
the region watered by the confluence of 
the Arkansas and Mississippi, as yet un- 
opened to civilization and frequented 
only by trappers and hunters. Thence 
he returned to provide a home for him- 
self, his brother Peter and several nieces 
by buying, renovating and beautifying 
"Sunnyside," his retreat in his declining 
years on the bank of the river at Tarry- 
town, a fair estate near the haunts and 
scenes which his pen had depicted — to- 
day a literary Mecca. There he com- 
posed, during the next decade, "Recollec- 
tions of Abbotsford and Newstead Ab- 
bey," "Astoria," "Captain Bonneville," and 
occasional papers, afterward made into 
a volume with the title of the leading 
sketch, "Wolfert's Roost." He began his 
"Life of Washington," long contem- 
plated, and graciously abandoned to Pres- 
cott the "Conquest of Mexico," for which 
he had made considerable preparation. 
Without disparaging Prescott, whose 
splendid production marks a departure 
from the dry-as-dust statistics of a for- 
mer era, it is but just to say that the 
world lost much in the unselfish sur- 
render of Irving — if not in orderly narra- 
tion, certainly in graphic portraiture. 

Political honors, to which he was tem- 
peramentally averse, sought Irving ; but 
he declined the candidacy for Mayor of 
New York, standing for Congress, and 
Van Buren's tender of the naval port- 
folio. In 1842 President Tyler, at the 
instance of Webster, then Secretary of 
State, ofTered him the mission to Spain — 
a graceful recognition of the literary 
guild and of its most accomplished mem- 
ber, who was especially equipped for the 
post from his familiarity with Spanish 
affairs. His nomination was confirmed 



105 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



by acclamation, Henry Clay, who was 
opposing nearly all of Tyler's appoint- 
ments, saying, "this is a nomination 
everybody will concur in." Reluctant to 
leave "Sunnyside" and to intermit his 
literary tasks, he yet accepted, persuaded 
thereto by the gratifying manner in which 
the offer came, the advice of friends and 
the temptation again to visit Spain. His 
journey thither was an ovation through- 
out. He refused public dinners in New 
York, Liverpool and Glasgow, attended 
the grand fancy ball of the young queen 
in London, was welcomed by the royal 
family in Paris and by the governing 
powers in Madrid and entered upon his 
duties, which, under the disturbed state 
of the kingdom, were delicate and diffi- 
cult. He kept the relations between the 
court to which he was accredited and his 
own country free from embarrassment, 
was treated with signal respect by the 
ministry and acquitted himself as a diplo- 
mat of urbanity, skill and resourceful- 
ness. His private correspondence, much 
of which has been preserved, is match- 
less in its descriptions of places and per- 
sons seen and its historic portrayals — 
"the author's consummate art," as War- 
ner says, "of conveying an impression by 
what I may call the tone of his style." 

He resigned his mission and returned 
to "Sunnyside," in the fall of 1846. He 
finished his "Washington," which was 
published in full, in August, 1859, three 
months before his death ; and edited a 
complete edition of his works — fifteen 
volumes — from the press of Putnam. It 
is noteworthy, as indicative of his emolu- 
ments, that on his copyrights between 
1848 and 1859, he received $88,000. For 
the rest, he passed his sunset days se- 
renely, troubled only by a physical mala- 
dy, which had long beset him, in exten- 
sive correspondence, in loving care of his 
estate and relatives, and in occasional 
journeyings until the end came on No- 



vember 28, 1859. He is buried on a slight 
elevation overlooking "Sleepy Hollow" 
and the placid flow of the Hudson. Irving 
never married. The love of his youth 
was Matilda, the daughter of Jeremiah 
Ogden Hoffman, to whom he pledged 
himself when he was in his twenty-sixth 
year and she in her eighteenth. She was 
singularly lovely in person and mind — 
fair, refined, graceful and cultured be- 
yond her years. He was passionately 
fond of her. She died of pulmonary com- 
plaint of short duration tenderly minis- 
tered to by him in her passing. He de- 
votedly cherished her memory, piously 
preserving the keepsakes of their few, but 
happy, hours together; and he never 
wooed another. 



THROOP, Enos T., 

Lawyer, Jurist, GoTcrnor. 

The Throop genealogy is an especially 
interesting one. In an old family record, 
compiled by a daughter of the Rev. Ben- 
jamin Throope (Yale, 1734), it is stated 
that he was the seventh child of Captain 
William Throope, whose grandfather. 
Lord Scroope, after active engagement 
in one of the Scotch rebellions fled to 
America and assumed the name of Wil- 
liam Throope. There is also a family 
tradition that William Throope, the 
American ancestor, was really Adrian 
Scroope, a son of Adrian, the regicide. 
There are some circumstances that seem 
to fortify the tradition, but convincing 
proof of its validity is lacking. Be rec- 
ord or tradition, as may be, William 
Throope was married to Mary Chapman, 
at Barnstable, Massachusetts, in 1666, 
and, in 1680, became one of the original 
settlers of Bristol. Rhode Island, was a 
land agent there and selectman and repre- 
sentative in the commonwealth of Roger 
Williams. His third son, William, mar- 
ried Martha Colyn, at Bristol, in 1698, 



106 



X 




(f .^ (^ (Mi<:^/ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



went to Lebanon, Connecticut, and was 
there land agent, colonial representative 
and captain of militia. His eldest son, a 
second Captain William, born at Bristol, 
in 1669, married in 1719, Elizabeth Stan- 
berry and resided at Lebanon. His son, 
the Rev. George, born in 1723, married 
Mehitabel, daughter of John Bliss, also 
of Lebanon. En passim ; certain Lebanon 
people migrated, after the eviction of the 
Acadians, to Nova Scotia, where govern- 
ment lands were offered them on liberal 
terms, but from which, in turn, they were 
driven, during our Revolution, for refus- 
ing to espouse the British side. Among 
these were John Bliss and Josiah Throop, 
the governor's great-uncle — the latter an 
historic character, active in attempts to 
capture Nova Scotia and a lieutenant- 
colonel under Colonel Marinus Willett. 
The Rev. George Throope became the 
minister at Johnstown, New York ; was 
tutor to children of Sir William Johnson ; 
a chaplain in Colonel Samuel Brewster's 
regiment in the Revolution, and, having 
no children who reached maturity, adopt- 
ed George Bliss, the son of his sister 
Mary. He taking the name of Throop 
(eliding the "e"), born at Lebanon in 
1761, married, in 1783, Abia, daughter of 
Enos Thompson, a large landed pro- 
prietor of Dutchess county, and a de- 
scendant of Anthony Thompson, who 
came from England with Governor The- 
ophilus Eaton, in 1637, and signed the 
New Haven constitution in 1639. George 
Bliss Throop was brought up in Johns- 
town, "in the Valley." where Sir William 
Johnson held baronial state, which was 
ravaged by the retainers of Sir John, of 
evil memory, and the Mohawks of Brant, 
and about which Stevenson and Frederic 
have woven romantic spell. He was lib- 
erally educated, served in the Revolu- 
tion (Third New York Regiment), a 
skillful conveyancer, grew in the favor of 
his neighbors and builded a home ; but. 



in the midst of fair prospects and civic 
usefulness, he was stricken, by an acci- 
dent, with mortal sickness, and, after lin- 
gering and painful prostration, died in 
Albany, in 1794, leaving to his family 
naught but the home, his other means 
having been exhausted by his protracted 
disability. 

His elder son, Enos Thompson Throop, 
the future governor, named after his ma- 
ternal grandfather, was born in Johns- 
town, August 21, 1784. He was, by his 
father's death, impressed with the neces- 
sity of making his own way in the world. 
As a boy he was of studious habit, indus- 
trious and persevering in all his under- 
takings. Unable to compass a regular 
collegiate curriculum, he thankfully ac- 
cepted the ofifer of the Hon. George Met- 
calf, a member of Assembly and district 
attorney from Montgomery county and, 
in later years, an eminent practitioner at 
the Albany bar, to enter his office. Met- 
calf was also accomplished in belles- 
lettres and took pleasure in directing 
Enos's education both in law and the 
humanities. These the youth pursued 
with zeal and assiduity, completing them, 
after Metcalf's removal, in the offices of 
the eminent jurist, Daniel Cady, and of 
Matthias B. Hildreth. subsequently attor- 
ney-general of the state, and with the 
Rev. Urquhart, a graduate of Edinburgh 
University and principal of the local acad- 
emy. When he was admitted as an attor- 
ney of the Supreme Court, in January, 

1806, he had acquired a fine legal and 
lettered culture, his scholarly equipment 
notably declaring itself in his public 
career. After prospecting Western New 
York, then inviting eastern immigration, 
he located in Auburn, an embryo village 
on the outer verge of the great Puri- 
tan civilization, which was, within the 
ensuing half century to sweep onward to 
the Pacific. He arrived there in March, 

1807, '^nd entered at once upon the prac- 



107 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



tice of his profession. His success was 
instant and assured. He was skillful and 
resourceful in the trial of cases, with a 
clientage fully commensurate with the 
needs of the community, but, in the day 
of small things, not greatly remunerative. 
In 1811 he formed a partnership with 
Joseph L. Richardson, afterward county 
judge, that continued until it was dis- 
solved upon the appointment of Throop 
as county clerk. There is no doubt 
that, with the growth of the village, 
incorporated in 181 5, he would have 
reached a high standing among the law- 
yers of the central section of the State 
had he remained at the bar; but he was 
drawn from it by the emoluments of the 
clerkship, regarded as a desirable place 
and bestowed mainly as a reward for 
political service ; for Throop was a poli- 
tician from the start. His early procliv- 
ities were of a Federalist cast, Mr. Met- 
calf, his patron and benefactor, being an 
earnest advocate of its principles ; but 
Throop. thinking for himself, became an 
ardent Republican, with especial devotion 
to the interests of Tompkins, the rising 
star of the party and favorable to the re- 
election of President Madison against the 
ambition of DeWitt Clinton. In 181 1 
Tompkins was in his second term as gov- 
ernor, the Council of Appointment was 
Republican and Throop was made clerk 
of Cayuga. In 1813, the Federalists hav- 
ing control of the council, Throop was 
promptly removed and Elijah Miller, the 
leader of the local bar and subsequently 
the father-in-law of William H. Seward, 
was named as his successor; but, two 
years later, the Republicans being again 
in the ascendent, was restored to his 
office, which he held until 1819. In 1814 
he married Evelina, the youngest daugh- 
ter of Colonel William J. Vredenburg'h, 
one of the founders and, at the time, the 
magnate of Skaneateles. Their wedded 
life lasted but twenty years. She bore 



him three children, none of whom lived 
to mature years. 

In 1814 he was elected to Congress, a 
preferment, at the time, not inconsistent 
with his incumbency of the clerkship. He 
took his seat in that body, December 4, 
1S15, as a supporter of the Madison ad- 
ministration that had just brought to an 
honorable conclusion the war with Great 
Britain, but had still to grapple with eco- 
nomic issues of grave import. The Four- 
teenth was an exceedingly able Congress, 
including in its membership Clay, Cal- 
houn and Webster, the illustrious trium- 
virate. Throop, although a new member, 
assumed a highly respectable, even an 
influential, position. Earnest and lucid, 
if not what is termed eloquent, in speech, 
he participated freely in the debates of 
the session. He opposed the bill provid- 
ing for carrying the commercial treaty 
with Great Britain into eflfect ; approved 
the incorporation of the national bank, 
the Canadian volunteer bill, the tarifT act 
of 1816 and the "Compensation act," in- 
creasing the salaries of Congressmen 
from $1,300 to $1,800 per annum. His 
last mentioned vote, although in itself 
amply justified, clouded temporarily his 
political fortunes, as similar votes have 
done for many succeeding representa- 
tives. He resigned his seat at the close 
of the first session, and was not a candi- 
date at the special election to fill the 
vacancy, a "low-salary" party of Fed- 
eralists and Clintonians returning their 
nominee. 

Throop continued engaged actively in 
politics, unquestionably the leader of his 
party in his section, promoting its inter- 
ests and controlling appointments there- 
in, but never recommending improper 
ones, as is distinctly shown in his corre- 
spondence with the Hon. Perry G. Childs, 
a senator from the western district and 
a member of the Council of Appointment, 
a portion of which it has been the privi- 



108 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



lege of the writer to examine recently. 
In April, 1823, Throop was appointed, at 
the instance of Governor Yates, a judge 
of the seventh circuit. His legal attain- 
ments and his high character justified 
this preferment. He was courteous in 
manner, careful in deliberation and just 
in decision, even exceeding expectation 
in his familiarity with the principles, 
forms and proceedings in criminal law, 
gaining especial distinction in the cases 
of the conspirators indicted for kidnap- 
ping Morgan, the betrayer of the secrets 
of the Masonic fraternity. He left the 
bench with a full measure of professional 
and popular esteem. 

Meanwhile, he avoided interference in 
political concerns, although he was recog- 
nized as a friend of Van Buren and 
pledged to the presidential nomination 
of Jackson in 1828. In 1827, he changed 
his residence from Auburn to "Willow 
Brook," a fair farm on Owasco lake, to 
the cultivation and beautifying of which 
he gave much attention. Attached to all 
rural pursuits, he became even famous as 
a horticulturist. In the summer of 1828. 
he was solicited as the nominee for lieu- 
tenant-governor on the ticket to be head- 
ed by Van Buren with the tacit under- 
standing that in the event of its success, 
Van Buren would be called to Jackson's 
cabinet and the governorship would de- 
volve upon Throop. He assented and the 
program was carried out to the letter. The 
Democratic nominees were duly elected. 
Van Buren resigned and received the 
portfolio of state; and Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Throop became acting governor, 
March 12, 1829. He was elected gov- 
ernor, in 1830, over Francis Granger, the 
candidate of the combined Anti-Masonic 
and National Republican parties, thus 
being the incumbent of the office for 
nearly four years. 

His administration was intelligent, up- 
right and honorable throughout, although 



not especially eventful and without op- 
portunity for the display of brilliant 
statesmanship, such as was accorded to 
Tompkins and Seward. His messages 
were clear expositions of the economic 
conditions of the State and were couched 
in excellent English. He had the satis- 
faction of signing the "safety-fund" law, 
of promoting public charities, especially 
in the building of the first State lunatic 
asylum, of revising the criminal code, 
accomplishing the abolition of imprison- 
ment for debt and of approving liberal 
appropriations to common schools and 
higher seminaries of education. The 
exigent problem he was constrained to 
solve was that relating to the terms upon 
which internal improvements should be 
further prosecuted, including the per- 
plexing factor of the construction of the 
Chenango canal. This he adjusted, for 
the time being, by signing the bill direct- 
ing the work to proceed with certain 
limitations as to cost and the application 
of revenues. His financial policy is aptly 
and pithily expressed in his annual mes- 
sage of 1832, that "no public debt should 
be created, but with ample provision for 
its liquidation within reasonable time." 
It can hardly be said that, in the political 
view, his administration was a peaceful 
one. hampered as it was with the impor- 
tunities of office-seekers and factional dis- 
turbances. Upon the whole, however, it 
warrants the encomium of Jenkins that 
"considering he was obliged to stem the 
tide of anti-masonry, at its commence- 
ment, and how many difficulties and em- 
barrassments he encountered, it may 
with justice be said that it was alike fav- 
orable to him and the State. He dis- 
charged all the duties of the office with 
ability. He left the State and its finances 
prosperous and his party fairly in the as- 
cendant." 

Upon vacating the gubernatorial chair, 
he accepted the important and responsible 



loy 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



post of naval officer at New York and 
filled it efficiently until 1838, when he 
was appointed Charge d'affaires to the 
two Sicilies and served as such until the 
incoming of the Harrison administration 
when he was recalled. Thenceforth, un- 
til his death, more than thirty years after, 
he was a private citizen. For a time, he 
retired to "Willow Brook," which later 
he transferred to his favorite nephew, 
Enos T. Throop-Martin, his private sec- 
retary when he was governor and a dis- 
tinguished lawyer and man of affairs in 
central New York. Subsequently, he 
purchased a large farm near Kalamazoo, 
Michigan, upon the development of which 
he spent several years. He returned 
thence, in 1855, and built a new house at 
Willow Brook, devoting himself pleas- 
urably to gardening and horticulture un- 
til 1867 when he disposed of this prop- 
erty, and lived, for several years in New 
York City, and was one of the founders 
of the Union Club ; then went back to 
Willow Brook where, in his nephew's 
house, he died November i, 1874, aged 
ninety years. He is buried in St. Peter's 
churchyard, Auburn. No children sur- 
vived him, as already stated, but his 
nephews Enos T. Throop, of New .York, 
and Montgomery H. Throop, of Albany, 
left children as did also E. T. Throop- 
Martin, whose son Edward S. is a well 
known and accomplished essayist. Collat- 
eral relatives are the Williamses of Salem, 
New York, and the Campans of Detroit, 
Michigan. The governor is described, in 
his old age, as a stately and picturesque 
figure, with long and abundant white 
hair, of agreeable manners and entertain- 
ing speech. He was well read, possess- 
ing an extensive library in French, Italian 
and classic literature, much of which he 
procured during his residence abroad. 
He remained a Democrat of the old 
school to the end. There is a full length 



portrait of him by Weir, in the City Hall, 
New York, and a fine one of him, in his 
later years, painted by Elliott and now 
owned by Mrs. R. S. Brewster. 



MARCY, William L., 

statesman, Governor, Cabinet Offlcial. 

In the politics and statesmanship of the 
country, for a period of forty years, Wil- 
liam Learned Marcy occupied a large 
place or rather, many places, to which 
his talents and patriotism justly entitled 
him. He came of goodly Puritan stock. 
Among the first settlers of Sturbridge, 
Worcester county, Massachusetts, was 
Moses Marcy, of English descent, born in 
Woodstock, Connecticut, where, in 1723, 
he married Priscilla Morris. They re- 
moved to Sturbridge, in 1732, with a fam- 
ily of five children, subsequently increas- 
ed to eleven. He soon became "one of 
the principal inhabitants ;" a representa- 
tive in the General Court and, for many 
years, was the stated moderator at town 
meetings. During the old French war, 
he equipped soldiers for the army, at his 
own expense, afterward remunerated 
therefor by the town. He died, in 1779, 
at the age of seventy-two. leaving an 
honored name and a large estate, for the 
time. Jedediah, his grandson and the 
father of William L., commanding a 
militia company, shortly after the close of 
the Revolution, held several town offices 
and acquired a competency, sufficient for 
the education of his children. He married 
Ruth Learned, of excellent Sturbridge 
family and, from this union, William L. 
issued December 12, 1786. 

He received a liberal education, being 
graduated from Brown University, in 
1808, unblemished in character, well drill- 
ed in the classics, exceptionally cultured 
in English literature and general history 
and with a facile and accurate pen, no- 
tably admired and trusted, in the political 





W. L. MARCY 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



conflicts in which he was engaged, in 
after years, by his friends, and feared by 
his foes. Like many bright New Eng- 
land boys, he was attracted to this State 
for a career, and settled in Troy, where 
he studied law and was admitted to prac- 
tice ; but, upon the breaking out of the 
war with Great Britain, he joined a com- 
pany of light artillery, as lieutenant, did 
valiant service on the Canadian frontier 
and, at St. Regis, captured the first pris- 
oners and a flag from the enemy — a par- 
ticularly brilliant exploit. He was later 
stationed with the troops charged with 
the defense of New York and there re- 
mained until the close of the war. Re- 
suming his practice in Troy, he also con- 
tributed articles to the Albany "Argus" 
and editorials to the Troy "Budget" 
which established his reputation as a 
political writer of the first order, at a time 
when great and accomplished political 
writers were much in evidence. His ser- 
vice in this regard was recognized in his 
appointment as recorder of Troy, when 
he had barely attained his thirtieth birth- 
day. Although, brought up in the New 
England environment, he was, from the 
first a pronounced Republican (Demo- 
crat), an ardent Jefifersonian devotee, 
following in the division of his party, in 
this State, the lead of Tompkins and Van 
Buren with DeWitt Clinton as his bctc 
noir. Because of this affiliation he was 
removed from the recordership, in iSi8, 
by the Council of Appointment, at the 
beck of Clinton. In 1820, he supported 
Tompkins, in his last run for governor, 
against Clinton, who was elected ; but the 
Legislature and the Council, being then 
anti-Clintonian, Marcy was made, in 1821, 
adjutant-general holding the place until 
1823, when he was appointed comptroller 
of the State and removed to Albany, 
which was thenceforth his residence. He 
was reappointed in 1826. 

As comptroller, always an important 



office, conspicuously so during Marcy 's 
incumbency, as involving weighty finan- 
cial problems and reforms in administra- 
tion, he exhibited the highest capacity as 
an executive ; and his annual reports are 
models of perspicuity in statement and 
style, revealing his intimate knowledge of 
the condition and needs of the treasury. 
It was while he was comptroller that he 
identified himself with the "Albany Re- 
gency" —an organization that for astute- 
ness in planning, skill in management 
and general integrity in the conduct of 
affairs is among the worthiest, as well as 
one of the most famous, bodies of its kind 
in the political annals of the land. Much 
of the success of its operations is to be 
attributed to the foresight and wisdom of 
William L. Marcy. Meanwhile, he con- 
tinued actively in his profession, and ac- 
quired an enviable standing therein, rend- 
ering him a fitting recipient of, if not an 
aspirant for, judicial honors, to say noth- 
ing of his political merit, which seems 
not to have been inconsistent with, if, 
indeed, it was not, in some sense, a cre- 
dential for, such preferment. According- 
ly he was appointed, January 15, 1829, 
an associate justice of the Supreme Court, 
with the approbation of the bar and the 
public, and held the position until Feb- 
ruary I, 1831, when he became United 
States Senator. His tenure was too brief 
to enable him to make a shining record ; 
and, although he is said to have resigned 
reluctantly, his ambition declared itself 
for the career of a statesman, as which 
his fame was to be exalted and enduring; 
but his judicial service was long enough 
to exhibit his legal learning, sound judg- 
ment and unswerving integfrity and to 
occasion general regret when he aban- 
doned it. 

Urged by Van Buren, who wanted a 
friend at Washington, while he was ab- 
sent as minister to Great Britain, by the 
"Regency" and other party managers he 



T II 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



consented to his election to the Senate. 
Therein his service was also brief — two 
years — although he was chosen for a full 
term. His reputation had preceded him; 
he was cordially welcomed to the Senate 
and immediately appointed chairman of 
the judiciary committee — an unusual 
compliment to be bestowed upon a new 
member. As senator, he was a staunch 
supporter of Jackson's administration — 
both of its personnel and its drastic poli- 
cies. He was a moderate protectionist ; 
opposed the re-charter of the United 
States Bank ; the harbors and appropri- 
ation bill, as containing a number of ob- 
jectional expenditures; and the distribu- 
tion of the proceeds of the public lands 
among the States. He spoke not frequent- 
ly, but always earnestly and clearly. One 
speech, at least, is still famous. Inspired 
by the assaults made upon Van Buren, 
»vhose confirmation as minister was at 
issue, he defended that appointment cour- 
ageously and affectionately and, in the 
course of his remarks, interpolated a vin- 
dication of political methods in New 
York, giving utterance to the dictum that 
"to the victor belongs the spoils," with 
which his name is inseparably associated. 
The passage, in which it occurs, worth 
quoting, even at this distance, is as fol- 
lows : 

It may be, sir, that the politicians of New 
York are not so fastidious, as some gentlemen 
are, as to disclosing the principles on which they 
act. They boldly preach what they practice. 
When they are contending for victory, they 
avow their intention of enjoying the fruits of it. 
If they are defeated, they expect to retire from 
ofifice; if they are successful, they claim, as a 
matter of right, the advantages of success. They 
see nothing wrong in the rule, that to the victor 
belongs the spoils of the enemy. 

It is needless to discuss the ethics of 
this rule, contrary to the usage of all 
national administrations, antecedent to 



that of Jackson, and in utter conflict with 
an enlightened civil service. Sufficient is 
it to say that Marcy was a partisan of 
partisans, employing all legitimate agen- 
cies to accomplish political success, but 
without taint of corruption therein, em- 
phasizing the dominant sentiment of all 
parties in his State and of the national 
administration to which he adhered. He 
simply voiced his time — and of much 
after time, as well — in his bold statement 
sustaining a system, for the existence of 
which he was but slightly, if at all re- 
sponsible ; but the phrase "stuck,'' to his 
disparagement. 

While still a senator a loud call came 
to Marcy from nearly all the Democratic 
papers in the State to stand as the nomi- 
nee for governor. Not only was the gov- 
ernorship regarded as the more consider- 
able oflice of the two, from the larger 
power and patronage it embraced ; but it 
seems to have been in a regular order of 
succession. DeWitt Clinton and Van 
Buren had been senators before they were 
governors and Aaron Burr, vice-presi- 
dent, had made a desperate effort to be- 
come one. Later Wright and Seward 
were in the same line and Dix, with a 
long interval between, held both places. 
In the reverse order, at a still later period, 
Governors Fish, Morgan, Fenton and Hill 
became senators and Vice-President Mor- 
ton finished his political service as gov- 
ernor. Marcy received the nomination, 
practically unanimous, from the Demo- 
cratic State Convention, at Herkimer, in 
June, 1832. He was elected by a major- 
ity of nearly 10,000 over Francis Granger, 
the candidate of the combined National 
Republican and .Anti-Masonic parties. 
He was re-elected, in 1834, by a majority 
of 13,046 over William H. Seward, Whig; 
and, for a third term, in 1836, by a plur- 
ality of 29,474, the opposing candidate be- 
ing Jesse Buel, Whig. He was defeated, 



112 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in 1S38, in the Whig overturn of that 
year, by 10,421, this figure evidencing his 
undiminished personal popularity. 

Governor Marcy's administration 
throughout was characterized by dignity, 
prudence and fidelity to its trust. His 
messages were remarkable for precision 
of style and grasp of subjects treated. 
The Legislature, barring the last year of 
his service, which the Whigs controlled, 
heeded his recommendations and was in 
uniform accord with his policies ; and, to 
his lasting credit, be it said, he never 
sought to dragoon it, nor in any regard, 
to usurp its functions — a habit in bright 
contrast with that which some of his suc- 
cessors have betrayed. He distinctly 
recognized the integrity of each of the co- 
ordinate branches of the government — 
the executive, legislative and judicial. 
He was a decided partisan, as already in- 
dicated, but he scorned a resort to trick- 
ery, even for partisan advantage, as in- 
stanced in his refusal to convoke the 
Senate to confirm appointments, predi- 
cated upon forced resignations of incum- 
bents, whose terms would not expire for 
two years. He made good appointments, 
within his province, especially fortifying 
the judiciary by excellent nominations — 
Nelson, Bronson, Cowen, Denio, ct al. He 
was firm in co-operating with the general 
government in maintaining American 
neutrality and in punishing American 
participants in the Canadian rebellion. 
During his term, the educational system 
of the State was diligently cared for and 
advantageously progressed. New York 
dedicating her share — $4,014,520.71 — of 
the moneys apportioned by the Federal 
government to the several States to the 
common school fund and providing for a 
library in every school district. Upon 
internal improvements, the governor did 
not occupy the extreme ground of abso- 
lutely "paying as you go," upheld by 
Samuel Young and Azariah C. Flagg; 
N Y-Vol 1-8 I 



but he opposed lavish expenditures. He 
expressed himself in favor of the en- 
largement of the Erie Canal as rapidly as 
the surplus revenues arising from the 
tolls would permit and assented to the 
construction of the Chenango, Black 
River, Genesee Valley and other laterals. 
He used his proper influence against the 
wholesale chartering of banks, for which 
the Legislature was besieged, in the spec- 
ulative period preceding the crash of 
1837. He advised caution, without in- 
dulging in coercion of the Legislature in 
the premises ; and this sufficed ; so that, 
in 1833, t)Ut eight charters were granted; 
in 1834, out of 105 applications, but seven 
were approved; in 1835, none; and be- 
yond these, but two or three banks were 
incorporated. 

In national afifairs. Governor Marcy 
was the stalwart supporter of the ad- 
ministrations of both Jackson and Van 
Buren, earnestly advocating the nomina- 
tion of the latter both as vice-president 
and president, especially zealous in behalf 
of the sub-treasury and other financial 
measures. He was decidedly hostile to 
the anti-slavery agitation, taking every 
possible occasion to denounce the aboli- 
tionists, presiding at a mass meeting in 
Albany, which declared their movements 
incendiary, menacing the peace of the 
republic, and even suggesting repressive 
acts against them. As the breach widen- 
ed between the Democratic factions — 
"Hunkers" and "Barnburners" — Marcy 
became more pronounced in his agree- 
ment with and activities for the former 
element, but this was mainly subsequent 
to his retirement from the governorship. 
To Van Buren personally he remained 
attached, cordially advocating his renomi- 
nation for the presidency in 1840. He 
left the chief magistracy with popular 
esteem attending and signal national 
honors awaiting him. President Van 
Buren appointed him, in 1839, one of the 

13 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



commissioners to decide upon the claims 
against the Mexican government, the 
duties of which required his presence in 
Washington until February, 1842, when, 
for a season, he returned to private life, 
still, however, a trusted leader and coun- 
sellor of his party. In September, 1843, 
he presided over the Democratic State 
Convention, at Syracuse, to select dele- 
gates of the Van Ruren stripe to the 
national convention. Van Buren was his 
first choice, but he acquiesced gladly in the 
nomination of Polk, whose purposed poli- 
cies, especially that favoring the annex- 
ation of Texas, even if it involved war 
with Mexico, he heartily approved. He 
engaged actively in the exciting canvass 
that resulted in Polk's election, who, up- 
on his accession, tendered Marcy the 
Secretaryship of War. In that position, 
necessarily the most responsible place in 
the cabinet, under the circumstances, he 
manifested the highest administrative 
capacity. He met his opportunity, and 
was one of the most efficient, valuable 
and even illustrious chiefs his depart- 
ment has had. War with Mexico was 
on. He was in full sympathy with its 
purpose, having been, as has been said, 
one of the earliest champions of the an- 
nexation of Texas. History bears will- 
ing testimony to his splendid services 
during the war — not alone in his atten- 
tion to the details of his office, but also 
to his counsel in the military operations 
and the action of the Congress. He has, 
perhaps, not unduly — been called the 
master-spirit in the conduct of the war 
with his genius for initiative, as well as 
his superb executive ability. At the close 
of Polk's administration, he returned to 
Albany, for the ensuing four years ; but 
was summoned by President Pierce to 
the first place in the cabinet — the port- 
folio of State — the functions of which he 
faithfully performed, sustaining. of 
course, the unfortunate domestic policies 



of that administration. He survived but 
a few months his retirement from public 
life, being found in the morning of July 
4. 1857, lifeless in his bed m his Albany 
home with an open book in his hand. He 
is buried in the Albany Cemetery, that 
beautiful resting place of the dead ; and 
his name is fittingly commemorated in 
the highest mountain-peak in the Empire 
State. 

Ciovernor Marcy was twice married; 
first to Miss Newell, a descendant of one 
of the early settlers of Sturbridge ; and 
second to a daughter of Benjamin 
Knower, state treasurer and a prominent 
member of the "Albany Regency."' 



BOUCK, William C, 

Farmer, Public Official, Governor. 

William C. Bonck. known as "the 
farmer-governor," the first to break the 
line of legal succession to the station, to 
which the protession seemed to have pre- 
scriptive title, was of yeoman stock, as 
well as of landed estate. Into the forest 
primeval of the Schoharie Valley amid 
the Helderberg hills, there came, in 1713, 
upon invitation of Governor Hunter, 
some fifty families of the three thousand 
German-Lutherans who fled from priestly 
persecution in the Palatinate and peopled 
the region of the Hudson and Mohawk. 
Among these were the Boucks. In i/SS- 
William Bouck, the son of the pioneer, 
and the first white male child born in the 
kill, patented, with Jacob Frederic Law- 
yer and others several thousand acres in 
the towns, now Fulton and Middle- 
burgh, and thereon builded his home. His 
fields were ravaged, his buildings burned, 
and himself taken captive by the savage 
raiders of Brant and Johnson. His son, 
Cliristian. the father of the governor, was 
a brave soldier of the Revolution, who 
inherited a goodly share of the paternal 
acres, and increased them by industry 



114 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and thrift until he became one of the 
wealthiest and worthiest citizens of his 
section. He married Margaret Borst, of 
like lineage as himself, and lived until he 
was eighty-two, in 1836, and his son was 
famous. 

William C. was born January 7, 1786. 
As a farmer's boy, he was inured to toil, 
saying, years afterward, that "no common 
laborer on my father's farm did more 
work than myself, either in clearing land, 
or in the harvest field. Often have I gone 
to the plough before daylight and from 
it after dark." His father, well-circum- 
stanced, had intended to give him a liberal 
education ; but the call of the soil was 
imperative and he was, perforce, content 
with such knowledge as he could get 
from the primitive log school-house and 
"pickings up" from the books and men 
of the rural community. As he reached 
manhood, he was of sturdy frame, intelli- 
gent parts and accommodating ways, with 
keen faculties of observation and judg- 
ment. He was exceedingly popular in 
his neighborhood, because exceedingly 
helpful in counsel and all generous offices. 
Simons in his "History of Schoharie 
County and Border Wars of New York," 
says "Many a word spoken in jest be- 
comes prophetic. About the year 1820, 
an honest farmer living on Fox Creek 
held a conversation with a friend of ours, 
in which Mr. Bouck was mentioned. Of 
the latter gentleman, the former remark- 
ed: 'Depend upon it, that man will yet 
be governor of this State ; for, instead of 
going round a hill, as other men do, to 
see what is on the other side, he looks 
right through it.' " 

Even before he was a voter he was a 
politician — a thorough going partisan of 
Jefiferson and Madison and an adherent 
of Tompkins. Soon, he was the manager 
and oracle of his party in the Republican 
(Democratic) stronghold of his State — 
the county which has uniformly given a 



Democratic majority in a presidential 
canvass, from Jefiferson to Wilson. In 
1807, when he was twenty-one, he was 
chosen clerk of his town and, in the en- 
suing two years, was its supervisor. In 
1812, he was appointed sheriff, by a 
Tompkins Council of Appointment, but, 
the next year, was removed, the I'eder- 
alists having a temporary majority in the 
Council. In the same year, he was elec- 
ted to the Assembly; re-elected in 1814 
and 1815 and returned for a fourth term 
in 1817. At the April election, in 1S20, 
he became a senator from the Middle dis- 
trict, his term expiring in 1822 by reason 
of the Constitutional reapportionment of 
districts. In the Legislature, he was not 
prominent as a debater, but was diligent 
in the committee rooms, and his shrewd- 
ness, tact and resourcefulness made him 
influential in the councils of his party and 
of signal assistance to the governor in his 
war measures. 

By an act of the Legislature, in 1821, 
an additional canal commissioner was 
provided for. Bouck received the unani- 
mous nomination of the Republican 
caucus to that effect and was elected, 
assuming office, with considerable reluc- 
tance. The Erie Canal could be of little 
direct benefit to his immediate locality, 
however advantageous to the central and 
western sections of the State, and the 
duties of the commissioner were arduous 
and engrossing. But, having accepted 
the place, he speedily showed himself as 
one of the most capable and useful mem- 
bers of the board in forwarding the work 
and in management of finances, contrac- 
tors and laborers. He was a great com- 
missioner and, as such, during the nine- 
teen years of his incumbency, appears, 
in the review, to have been even greater 
than in his capacity of governor. During 
nearly the whole period he was in charge 
of the construction of the western section 
of the canal, indefatigable and omnipres- 



115 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ent. He was constantly in the saddle, 
and his attention to details was assiduous 
and minute. He had the satisfaction of 
witnessing the completion of the great 
channel; and, on October 25, 1825, of 
meeting on the packet boat, "William C. 
Bouck," east of Bufifalo, and joining the 
fleet which, with Governor Clinton and 
his suite, moved eastward, amid the sa- 
lutes and parades on the banks to the 
ceremonial in New York harbor of the 
marriage of Lake Erie to the Atlantic. 
Commissioner Bouck also superintended 
the building of the lateral water-ways, and, 
in 1833, was tendered the commission- 
ership of the Utica & Schenectady rail- 
way which he declined. He was removed 
as canal commissioner by the Whigs in 
1840. He was, however, so strong with his 
party and his canal record had made him 
so many friends, in the west as well as 
in the east, that he was the most avail- 
able candidate for the gubernatorial nomi- 
nation of the Democracy, in the memor- 
able campaign of that year ; but he was 
defeated by Governor Seward, running, 
however, some four thousand votes 
ahead of Van Buren. Two years later, 
he was elected governor over Luther 
Bradish, an exceptionally strong Whig 
candidate, mainly on economic issues, by 
a majority of 22,581 in a total poll of 394,- 
763 votes. 

Fortified by the confidence of the 
people, as indicated by these figures and 
solicitous for the weal of the State, Gov- 
ernor Bouck's administration was distin- 
guished for its business methods, honesty 
and providence. Among his recommenda- 
tions, some of which were adopted and 
some not, were the prosecution of inter- 
nal improvements, without ill-advised 
projects or extravagant expenditures ; 
public appropriations only by a two- 
thirds vote of the Legislature ; a consti- 
tutional amendment to appreciate the 
efficiency of the judiciary; the modifica- 



tion of the safety-fund law with fuller 
protection against bank failures ; and the 
improvement of the militia. He kept a 
vigilant eye upon all the departments of 
the government and maintained the peace 
of the commonwealth, quelling, by force 
of arms, a serious Anti-Rent outbreak in 
Columbia county. He opposed the call- 
ing of the Constitutional Convention of 
1846; but his own county insisted that he 
should be a delegate thereto. He was 
elected by the big majority, which it was 
the habit of Schoharie to bestow upon 
him; and he was the chairman of the 
committee on the elective franchise in the 
convention. 

As governor, however, he was embar- 
rassed throughout by the strife between 
the factions of his party, more bitter and 
relentless than that between the political 
parties themselves, as they have so been 
frequently in New York, as witness 
the conflicts between "Clintonians" 
and "Bucktails," the "Silver Grays" and 
"Wooly-Heads," the "Stalwarts" and 
"Half-Breeds." From the outset the 
cleavage between "Hunkers" and "Barn- 
burners" continued to widen. The 
governor was of the "Hunker" persuasion 
and ex-officio was its chief, with Edwin 
Croswell, Daniel S. Dickinson and Ho- 
ratio Seymour as his lieutenants. The 
"Barnburners" were led by Samuel 
Young, Azariah C. Flagg and Michael 
Hofi^man, a formidable trio of belliger- 
ents. The two elements were divided 
both upon national and State issues, the 
one resisting and the other acquiescing in 
the encroachments of slavery upon the 
national domain, including the impend- 
ing acquisition of Texas. The two ele- 
ments differed upon the canal policy. The 
"Hunkers" favored the further prosecu- 
tion of internal improvements with mod- 
erate increase of the public debt ; the 
"Barnburners" were opposed to the doing 
of any work that would not pay for itself 



116 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



as it progressed and to any augmenta- 
tion of bonded obligations. The gov- 
ernor consented to "the stop and tax 
law" of 1842; but this did not heal the 
breach. There remained the patronage 
to be dealt with — ever the problem of a 
governor, with an united party, to solve; 
the bane of one, with a divided party, to 
reckon with. In this, Bouck showed no 
disposition to compromise, bestowing 
such positions as he could command al- 
most exclusively upon the conservatives, 
among whom was Edwin Croswell, as 
State printer, which provoked the estab- 
lishment of the "Atlas," thenceforth in 
bitter warfare with Croswell's "Argus." 
The Senate, however, in control of the 
radicals rejected a number of the gov- 
ernor's nominees; and the battle of the 
factions went briskly on during his term; 
and so while the general tenor of his ad- 
ministration was creditable to him and 
his personal integrity was unimpeached. 
the feud, within his party, prevented his 
renomination. 

While a delegate in the Constitutional 
Convention, President Polk appointed 
him assistant-treasurer of the United 
States, at New York — a highly lucrative 
and responsible post, for which he was 
peculiarly well qualified. He discharged 
its duties to the entire satisfaction of the 
government and the public, until remov- 
ed by President Taylor in May, 1849. 
Thenceforth he lived in comparative re- 
tirement upon his Schoharie farm, until 
his death, April 19, 1859. He had mar- 
ried, in 1807, Catharine, the only daugh- 
ter of Jacob Lawyer, the son of Jacob 
Frederic Lawyer, one of the co-patentees 
with his grandfather, heretofore referred 
to. By this union, he had eleven chil- 
dren and the family is still among the 
prominent residents of Schoharie. An in- 
telligent and impartial biography of Gov- 
ernor Bouck is included in Jenkins's 
"Governors." 



MAYNARD, William H., 

Journalist, Laxtryer, Legislator. 

William Hale Maynard who, in his 
honorable, but all too brief, life, attained 
<iistinction as a lawyer and legislator, 
was born in Conway, Massachusetts, No- 
vember 3, 1786, the son of Malachi and 
Anna Hale Maynard. His early years 
were characterized by filial obedience, 
strict integrity and studious habits. He 
was fitted for college by the Rev. Mr. 
Hallock, of Plainfield, and was graduated 
from Williams in iSio, with the second 
honor of his class. 

Soon after graduation, he started 
"Westward ho ! ' and entered the ofhce of 
General Joseph Kirkland, in New Hart- 
ford, Oneida county. He pursued his law 
studies diligently and profitably, inter- 
spersing them by journalistic employ- 
ment and was admitted to practice in 
the Supreme Court in 1816. In 181 1, he 
purchased an interest in the Utica "Pa- 
triot" and assumed its editorship, possibly 
not having then determined which of the 
two professions he would engage in per- 
manently. As it was, he essayed them 
both. Shortly after his admission, he 
formed a partnership with Samuel A. 
Talcott, a college mate, and they opened 
offices in New Hartford and Utica, with 
Talcott's residence in the former and 
Maynard's in the latter place. The 
young firm was compelled to try its 
mettle against a strong and well estab- 
lished force — Nathan Williams, Morris 
S. Miller, Thomas R. Gold, Jonas Piatt, 
Joseph Kirkland and others — none abler 
in the State. It was a daring venture 
but, with both members hopeful, gifted 
and self-reliant, it soon justified its chal- 
lenge, gaining wide repute and remuner- 
ative clientele. Of Maynard, Judge Wil- 
liam J. Bacon says, "he rose rapidly, after 
he had made his first mark, and was soon 
employed on one side or the other in most 



117 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of the heavy litigation that engaged the 
courts of the county." The firm was dis- 
solved upon the appointment of Talcott 
as attorney-general and Maynard, after 
brief service as deputy attorney-general, 
made partnership with Ebenezer Griffin 
and, in 1S28, with Joshua A. Spencer, also 
a great lawyer, their association lasting 
until Maynard's death. 

Meanwhile Maynard, without detri- 
ment to his practice, kept up his connec- 
tion with the press until 1824, rendering 
the "Patriot" a power in the community. 
As Keats too modestly says of himself, 
an editor "writes in sand," and we must 
hunt, to-day, for evidence of the value 
of Maynard's work, in the yellowing files 
hidden in dusty alcoves, wherein may be 
found his pure, pungent and cogent ex- 
pression. The "Patriot," at the first, sup- 
ported Federalist principles and policies, 
but, in 1819, veered to that faction of the 
Republican party which befriended Dan- 
iel D. Tompkins in his efifort tO' wrest 
the chief magistracy from DeWitt Clin- 
ton. This involved the sale of the "Pa- 
triot" by Seward and Williams, its pub- 
lishers and controlling owners, to other 
parties and their establishment of a rival 
journal, the "Sentinel," leaving Maynard 
still in command of the "Patriot" until his 
retirement as above mentioned. He had 
become as celebrated as competent in the 
legal profession. He stood at its front, 
remarkable for his acumen, wealth of 
learning, familiarity with precedents and 
logical formulation of points. He was 
rarely ornate in speech, but always clear. 
Strength prevailed in all he said. He 
had an exalted idea of law as the rule of 
human rectitude and the importance of 
having its principles well understood. He 
may have been equalled, if not excelled, 
by many in the conduct of a case in the 
inferior courts — in cross examination of 
reluctant witnesses or in artful appeals to 
juries ; but in the serener atmosphere of 



the superior courts, where reason rules, 
he was well-nigh peerless. 

Politically, Maynard is to be classed 
first as a Federalist, then as an anti-Clin- 
tonian, and lastly as an Anti-Mason. He 
had been a member of the Masonic lodge, 
but, following the abduction of Morgan, 
demitted therefrom and, upon the organ- 
ization of the Anti-Masonic party, affiliat- 
ed therewith ; and by it was elected from 
the fifth district, in 1828, one senator be- 
ing then chosen annually from each of the 
eight districts for a term of four years. 
The Senate, during Maynard's term, was 
an able body. When he entered it, he 
found therein Ambrose L. Jordan, Charles 
Stebbins and Nathaniel S. Benton ; Na- 
thaniel P. Tallmadge and Albert H. 
Tracy appeared in 1830; Henry A. I-osier 
and William H. Seward in 1831 ; and John 
Birdsall in 1S32. Preceded by his fame as 
a jurist Maynard at once took a leading, 
if not the leading, part in its deliberations 
and maintained it throughout. Ham- 
mond, although a political opponent, thus 
pays him tribute : "The Senate received 
a great accession of talent by the election 
of Mr. Maynard as one of its members. 
Amiable and benevolent in private life, 
courteous in debate and possessing talents 
of the highest order, he soon acquired, 
considering him in a small political min- 
ority, a high and commanding influence 
in the Legislature." Proctor describes 
him as "the great intellectual light of the 
Senate — the Halifax of his party." In the 
Court of Errors, which consisted of the 
Senate, the Chancellor and certain iudgts 
of the Supreme Court, vested with su- 
preme appellate jurisdiction, the Senate, 
because of its numbers, was the controll- 
ing element ; and, in its consultations, 
Maynard, among the senators, was chief- 
ly deferred to. His opinions are still 
quoted as authoritative. In the Senate 
proper, he was equally influential upon 
all issues, not strictly of a partisan na- 



118 




REUBEN H. WALWORTH 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ture ; was uniformly heard with respect 
and admiration, and often with convic- 
tion. Among the projects which he advo- 
cated earnestly and effectively was the 
construction of the Chenango canal. 

By a large proportion, perhaps a ma- 
jority, of his own party he was cordially 
favored as its prospective candidate for 
governor in 1832. It were idle to theorize 
upon what might have happened had the 
hopes of his friends been gratified by his 
further advancement — what plans of 
party or destinies of State might have 
been changed. But the blow, shattering 
their hopes and ending a brilliant career, 
still full of promise, fell as a bolt of light- 
ning from an azure sky. Senator May- 
nard, while on an official visit to New 
York, died from an attack of Asiatic 
cholera, then scourging the city, Septem- 
ber I, 1832, in the forty-sixth year of his 
age. Sincere and general sorrow, alike 
from friends and foes, attended his de- 
parture. Resolutions attesting his worth 
were passed by many bar associations 
and sympathy was expressed by courts. 
Edwin Croswell wrote in the Albany 
"Argus" that, 

Mr. Maynard was in the prime of life and may 
be said to have been in the maturity and vigor 
of his faculties. And his were the faculties of 
no ordinary mind. It was powerful; thoroughly 
imbued with the learning of the day, profes- 
sional and political; logical and exact; and pos- 
sessed in a remarkable degree of the power of 
bringing out and applying its resources. As a 
lawyer, as a debater in the senate and as a 
capable writer, he has left few superiors among 
his contemporaries. Although of opposite poli- 
tics with ourselves, we knew and estimated the 
power of his intellect and, along with our 
friends, have felt the sharpness and force of an 
encounter with it. To his personal friends, his 
death is a severe deprivation. In the political 
party to which he was attached, he has left no 
equal and none that can supply his place. 

He was never married. He had ac- 
quired a considerable estate, the major 



portion of which he bequeathed to chari- 
table and literary institutions. He was 
ever deeply interested in all grades of 
education ; was among the early trustees 
of the Academy, which profited materially 
by his counsel and benefactions ; and by 
his will he endowed the Maynard Chair 
of Law in Hamilton College that was for 
years filled by that renowned teacher, 
Theodore W. Dwight, and is now in 
charge of Francis M. Davenport, the well 
known scholar and publicist. 



WALWORTH, Reuben Hyde, 

Diatingnished Jurist. 

Chancellor Reuben Hyde Walworth 
was of the fourth generation in this coun- 
try, descended from William Walworth, 
of Fisher's Island. Suffolk county, Long 
Island, New York. 

William Walworth, who emigrated to 
America from near London. England, 
1689, is the progenitor of all the Wal- 
worths of America. He claimed to be a 
descendant of Sir William Walworth, 
who was lord mayor of London at the 
time of the rebellion of Watt Tyler in 
the reign of Richard II. The arms of the 
family of London and Suffolk is thus de- 
scribed by Burke : Gules, a bend engrail- 
ed argent, between the two gaibs or. 
Crest : a cubit arm vested or, cuff" argent, 
the arm grasping a dagger sinister im- 
brued gules pommel and hilt or. Motto : 
".Strike for the laws." He came to Amer- 
ica in 1689, at the special instance of Fitz 
John Winthrop, then major-general com- 
manding the forces of the colony and 
afterwards governor. It was Winthrop's 
desire to introduce upon Fisher's Island 
the English system of farming, with 
which Walworth was known to be well 
acquainted. He was the first lessee and 
settler upon the island. To it he carried 
his young wife, and here most of his 
children were born. Fle was the sole 



119 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



citizen, and could say, "I am monarch of 
all I survey." He was above all town 
meetings, sheriffs, constables and law 
officers. He made his own roads and 
mended them. No man unless a Win- 
throp had a right to hunt there. How 
long his independence lasted is not 
known, probably not since the Revolu- 
tion, when New York became a sovereign 
State. On this island he resided for nine 
years in safety. The Indian wars of Con- 
necticut did not alarm him. There was 
some danger from P'rench privateers, but 
the real danger that finally drove him to 
the mainland for safety was from the 
pirate. Captain Kidd, about 1699. He 
settled in Groton on Fort Hill, where he 
passed the remainder of his days, and he 
died in 1703. His will and record of it 
was burned at the time of the capture 
of New London by Benedict Arnold. He 
was a Congregationalist, and he and his 
wife were baptized at New London, Jan- 
uary 14, 1691-92. In 1690 he married 
Mary Seaton, an orphan, who came from 
England on the same ship with him. She 
remained a widow forty-nine years, and 
died January 14, 1752. She was left with 
seven children. She was a woman of rare 
wisdom and ability. She increased the 
value of the estate, and the children all 
began life with an increased equal share 
with her of the estate. All the sons were 
farmers and seem to have had ample 
means which they freely invested in more 
land. The daughters married and lived 
outside Groton with husbands of ample 
fortune. 

John, of Groton, second son of Wil- 
liam, of Fisher's Island, and Mary (Seat- 
on) Walworth, was born on that island 
in 1696, died 1748, buried in Wrightman 
cemetery, as is his wife and several of his 
children. He was a wealthy farmer and 
shipbuilder and owner. His inventory 
mentions four negro servants, fifty horn- 
ed cattle, eight hundred and twelve 



sheep, a stud of thirty-two horses, and 
seventy-seven ounces of wrought silver 
plate. He was appointed cornet of a 
troop of dragoons in the Eighth Connec- 
ticut Regiment and afterwards captain. 
In November, 1718, he married Sarah B., 
cmly child of Captain Richard Dunn (2), 
and his wife, Hannah or Elizabeth Bailey, 
of Newport, Rhode Island. She died No- 
vember I, 1778, in her seventieth year. 
Their son, Sylvester, was a soldier of the 
Revolution, and a victim of the Fort 
Cjriswold massacre; his name is preserv- 
ed on the tall monument that overlooks 
his burial place, Ledyard cemetery, and 
the scene of the massacre. 

Benjamin, youngest son of John, of 
Groton, and Sarah (Holmes) Walworth, 
was born at (jroton, Connecticut, Novem- 
ber II, 1746. He was a hatter in early 
life, and worked at that trade at Pough- 
keepsie and in Minisink, Orange county. 
New York. He was a merchant later at 
Nine Partners, in company with Philip 
Hart, of Troy. He also had a store at 
Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county ; later 
sold his interest, and settled on a farm 
in Norwich. In 1792 he removed to Hoo- 
sick, New York, where he was both 
farmer and mill owner, and where he was 
killed by his horse, February 26, 1812. 
He is buried in Union cemetery, Hoosick 
Falls. ?le had a Revolutionary career as 
quartermaster of Colonel Nichol's New 
York Regiment, and was engaged at the 
battle of White Plains, where he served 
as adjutant to Colonel Nichol. In 1782 
he married Apphia Hyde, of Bozrah, 
Connecticut, widow of Captain Samuel 
Cardell, a learned grammarian and author 
of "Jack Halyard, the Sailor Boy." She 
was a daughter of Rev. Jedediah Hyde, 
great-grandson of William Hyde, one of 
the original proprietors of Norwich, Con- 
necticut. Her mother was Jerusha, 
granddaughter of the first John Tracy 
who married Mary Winslow, daughter of 
20 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



John and Mary (Chilton) Winslow, who 
came over in the "Fortune," 1621, the lat- 
ter in the "Mayflower," 1620. Children 
of Benjamin and Apphia (Hyde) Wal- 
worth: I. Rosamond, married (first) 
Oliver Barbour, (second) Benjamin Ran- 
dall. 2. John, entered the United States 
army and was captain of the Sixth Regi- 
ment United States Infantry and was at 
the battles of Little York and Fort 
George in Canada during the War of 
1812-14, where he was wounded; General 
Pike was killed at his side during the 
first battle ; he attained the rank of ma- 
jor; married (first) Sarah, daughter of 
Colonel Jonas Simonds, of the army, no 
issue; married (second) Catherine M., 
daughter of Judge William Bailey, of 
Plattsburgh. 3. James Clinton, removed 
to Otsego, where for twenty years he was 
judge of the county court; married (first) 
Helen 'I'alcott, daughter of Deacon An- 
drew Sill, of Burlington, New York; 
(second) Maria M Haynes, a descendant 
in the seventh generation of Jonathan 
Haynes, the first of Newbury, Massachu- 
setts, who came from England in 1635. 
4. Reuben Hyde, of later mention, c;. 
Sarah Dunn, married Field Dailee. 6. 
Benjamin, was a physician and surgeon 
of Hoosick and Fredonia, New York, and 
for many years one of the judges of the 
court of common pleas of Chautauqua 
county. New York ; married Charlotte 
Eddy, of Hoosick. 7. Apphia, married 
David J. Mattison, of Arlington, Ver- 
mont, and later a farmer of Fredonia, 
New York. 8. Jedediah, a lawyer, unmar- 
ried. 9. Hiram, who though a mere boy, 
was in the battle of Plattsburgh in the 
War of 1812, being one of Captain Allen's 
company of volunteers. He married Delia 
Arabella, daughter of Judge Jonathan 
Griftin, of Plattsburgh, New York ; he 
was assistant register of the United 
States Court of Chancery, succeeding his 
brother. Major John. 10. Ann Eliza, 



married Charles Theodore Piatt, then a 
midshipman, afterward a master and 
commander in the United States navy ; 
it was said at his burial service, "Under 
any other government upon the globe, an 
Admiral's insignia instead of a command- 
er's, would have been borne upon his 
coffin." 

Reuben Hyde Walworth, third 'on of 
Benjamin and Apphia (Hyde) Walworth, 
is known a.^ the last Chancellor of the 
.State of New York. He was born at 
Bozrah, (Connecticut, October 26, 1788, 
where tiie first four years of his life were 
passed, and died at Saratoga Springs, 
New ^■ork. November 28, 1867. He re- 
ceived his early education in the schools 
of Hoosick, New York, where the greater 
part of his childhood was spent. He 
began his law studies at Troy, New 
York, in December, 1806, in the office of 
John Russell, a noted practitioner of his 
day. In 1810 he was admitted to the New 
York bar, and began practice in Platts- 
burgh at once. During the next thirteen 
years he was successively justice of the 
peace, master in chancery. Supreme Court 
Commissioner, colonel of militia and 
member of Congress. In April, 1823, he 
was appointed circuit judge of the Fourth 
Judicial District of the State of New 
York, and in October of that year remov- 
ed his residence from Plattsburg to Al- 
bany, where he resided several years, 
when he removed to Saratoga Springs. 
He held the office of circuit judge for five 
years, and in April, 1828, was appointed 
Chancellor of the State of New York. 

During the War of 1812-14 he was in 
the L'nited States military service. He 
was aide to Major-General Mooers at the 
invasion of Plattsburg by the British 
army in September, 1814, and at the bat- 
tles of September 6-1 1, was acting as ad- 
jutant-general. In 1844-45 he was apn 
pointed by President Tyler to the high 
office of justice of the Supreme Court of 



121 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the United States, but the nomination 
was opposed by several senators, prin- 
cipally by Henry Clay, and the appoint- 
ment was recalled, Samuel Nelson being 
substituted and confirmed. In the gen- 
eral election of 1848 he was the Demo- 
cratic candidate for governor of New 
York, but was defeated by the defection 
of Martin Van Buren and other "Free 
Soilers" from the party. At the breaking 
out of the Civil War, Chancellor Wal- 
worth, although strongly loyal to the 
Union, was an earnest advocate of con- 
ciliation and a prominent delegate to the 
so-called peace convention. A speech of 
his, made on that occasion, was spread 
throughout the Union. His appeal may 
have been hopeless and perhaps inoppor- 
tune, but it was a most touching appeal 
for peace, and does credit to his humanity 
and kindliness of spirit. As a jurist he 
was of the most painstaking and just 
type as the law reports of his decisions 
attest. He had literary genius of the 
highest order and left many writings of 
value to posterity. 

He married (first) January 16, 1812, 
Maria Ketchum Averill, born December 
31, 1795, at Plattsburgh, died at Saratoga 
Springs, April 24, 1847, daughter and 
eldest child of Nathan and Mary (Ket- 
chum) Averill. She was a descendant of 
William Averill, the first who came from 
Milford Haven, Wales, and settled in 
Topsfield, Massachusetts, through his 
son, Isaac Averill, of Kent, Connecticut, 
who was born about 1685. Daniel, son of 
Isaac Averill. married Lucy Cogswell, of 
New London, Connecticut. Children : 
Nathan, married Rosanna Noble, of 
Plattsburgh, New York, maternal aunt of 
Rev. Jeremiah Day, a ])resident of Yale 
College. Nathan (2). son of Nathan and 
Kosanna (Noble) .Averill. married, and 
among his children was Maria Ketchum 
Averill, first wife of Chancellor Wal- 
worth. He married (second) .April 16, 



185 1, Sarah Ellen, youngest daughter of 
Horace Smith, of Locust Grove, Ken- 
tucky, and widow of Colonel John J. 
Hardin, killed February 23, 1847, ^^ the 
battle of Buena Vista, Mexico. She sur- 
vived the Chancellor several years, dying 
at Saratoga Springs, July 15, 1874. Chil- 
dren by first marriage: i. Mary Eliza- 
beth, married Edgar Jenkins. 2. Sarah, 
married John Mason Davison, of Sara- 
toga Springs, ex-register of Court of 
Chancery, president and general super- 
intendent of the Saratoga & Whitehall 
Railroad Company. 3. Ann Eliza, mar- 
ried Rev. J. Eleazer Trumbull Backus, 
D. D., LL. D., a descendant of Lieuten- 
ant William Backus, one of the thirty- 
five organized proprietors of Norwich, 
Connecticut. 4. Rev. Clarence A., LL. 
D., entered the priesthood of the Roman 
Catholic church and spent seventeen 
years in "Missions" in England and the 
United States; in 1866 he became rector 
of St. Mary's parish, Albany ; he received 
the degree of LL. D., from the Regents 
of the University of the State of New 
York, July 6, 1887; he is the author of 
many published works, various sermons 
and articles contributed to the periodical 
and daily press ; previous to entering the 
priesthood he graduated from Union Col- 
lege, studied law and was admitted to the 
New York bar. 5. Mansfield Tracy, grad- 
uated from Union College and was a 
lawyer, as well as a novelist of high re- 
pute ; his wife, Ellen Hardin, was an 
active member of the Saratoga Board of 
Education and served for many years as 
trustee of the Saratoga Monument Asso- 
ciation ; to her judgment, zeal and energy 
the public are indebted for the many 
memorial tablets with which the battle 
ground from Bemis Heights to Schuyler- 
ville has been enriched and illustrated ; 
she is the author of "Battles of Sara- 
toga," including a guide to the battle- 
ground, with maps and a history of the 



122 




^. ^ 



C "^t Cl-'X^'J C-^^-C^ 



C-t^^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Monument Association. 6. Frances De 
Lord, died in childhood. By his second 
marriage Chancellor Walworth had one 
child: Reuben Hyde (2), died in infancy. 
By her marriage with Colonel Hardin, 
Mrs. Sarah Ellen (Smith-Hardin) Wal- 
worth had: i. Ellen, married Mansfield 



was, at the close of the Revolutionary 
War the owner of multitudinous acres, 
mainly in Otsego, then a portion of Mont- 
gomery county, New York. He had mar- 
ried Elizabeth, daughter of Richard Feni- 
more, of Swedish lineage — a woman of 
exalted character, social worth and vigor- 



Tracy Walworth, fifth child of her step- ous intellect, said to be fond of romantic 



father. 2. Martin D., graduate of West 
Point, lieutenant in the United States 
army, i860; colonel of volunteers in 1862; 
was dangerously wounded at Second Bull 
Run, was in the Peninsula battles of 
1862, Gettysburg, 1863, and retired at the 
end of the war. 3. Lemuel Smith, lawyer 
and journalist of New York City. 4. 
Elizabeth, died infancy. 



COOPER, James Fenimore, 

Novelist, Historian, Liitigant. 



reading — a hint of her son's inclination. 
William Cooper, in order to supervise his 
Otsego holdings, went thither with his 
family September i, 1790. There on the 
shore of the beautiful lake he erected 
Otsego Hall, the roomiest and most im- 
posing mansion in the section, the site of 
an abounding hospitality, where distin- 
guished guests of his own and other lands 
were entertained, around which grew the 
comely village named after him, where he 
reigned with deference paid to him as a 
feudal lord, reared his family, promoted 
his property, and was chosen a judge and 
a representative in Congress. 

Such was the environment within which 
the character of Fenimore Cooper was 
moulded and his genius fostered — the one 



Cooper is the most notable pioneer 
among American novelists, opening a 
fresh field of imaginative literature, peer- 
less as a narrator of the life of the forest 
and of the sea and ranking with the great 
writers of fiction of all times. The gather- clean and correct, with disposition self- 
ing years do not obscure the radiance of assertive and sometimes overbearing, as 
his renown. His name is in the Hall of was natural under the circumstances ; the 
Fame. other stimulated by the marvels and 

James Fenimore Cooper, though born majesties of nature that he beheld. His 
in Burlington, New Jersey, September education in books was of a spasmodic 
15, 1789, was but fourteen months old order. Quick to learn, he was severely 



when he was introduced to the fair region 
of this State wherein the Susquehaima 
rises and Otsego's waters gleam — then 
an almost unbroken wilderness — and re- 
ceived the impressions of woodland ways 
and works which glorify his pages. The 
Coopers were of English-Quaker descent, 
the emigrant ancestor having landed, in 
1679, and becoming prosperous and hon- 



drilled by the rector of the village church 
— St. Peter's — a graduate of an English 
university and a thorough scholar, and 
entered Yale, at the age of thirteen, the 
youngest member of the class of 1806, 
save one, and far in advance of his class- 
mates, in the curriculum. The usual re- 
sult ensued. At his immature age he did 
not appreciate the responsibility of appli- 



ored as landed proprietors in the province cation and loitered and played in the hills 
of New Jersey. Judge William Cooper, about New Haven and by the shore of 
the father of Fenimore. a man of rare the Sound. He studied little, if any, 
sagacity, enterprise and executive ability, throughout his course which ended 

123 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



abruptly in the junior year, a frolic in the 
town incurring his dismissal from the col- 
lege. 

Then his father, as in many like cases, 
sent him to a reformatory school — the 
sea ; and after a year's hard discipline be- 
fore the mast, never being admitted to 
the cabin and enduring rough voyages, 
with such shore life in London and in 
Mediterranean ports as his sailor's rig 
would permit, he was commissioned as 
midshipman in the navy, January i, 1808. 
His naval service lasted about three and 
a half years, his resignation occurring 
May 6, 181 1. Thrilling incidents thereof 
are not recorded. His time was mainly 
spent on American waters. It included a 
residence at Oswego, during the winter 
of 1809, where he was engaged in build- 
ing a brig — -the Oneida — anticipatory of 
a conflict with Great Britain — postponed, 
however, for three years — and he had a 
season's sight of that inland sea, in its 
forest setting, which inspired the graphic 
picture of Ontario in "The Pathfinder;" 
in the summer of that year he had charge 
of the gunboats on Lake Champlain ; and 
in the fall was transferred to the "Wasp," 
under the command of the heroic Law- 
rence, to whom Cooper was tenderly at- 
tached and whose dying adjuration on 
the "Chesapeake" immortalizes his name. 

Cooper graduated from the navy a 
capable seaman and competent officer, 
versed as well in the lore, traditions and 
customs of "life on the ocean wave." His 
father had died in 1809 and he had mar- 
ried Susan Augusta, daughter of John 
Peter and sister of William Heathcote De 
Lancey, long the able Protestant Epis- 
copal bishop of Western New York. She 
was a woman of sterling character, re- 
f.ned tastes and unafTected piety. Their 
union was an uninterruptedly happy one, 
mutually purifying and ennobling. John 
Peter De Lancey, of a family of French 
Protestant extraction, of social and offi- 



cial distinction in provincial annals, of 
Tory persuasion, was himself a captain in 
the British army during the Revolution, 
and at its close was an e.xile for several 
years in England, but returned to West- 
chester county in 1789. Fenimore was an 
intense patriot, an American to his heart's 
core, fed by tales of Tory outrages and 
tragedies, in which the region of his boy- 
hood abounded, and trained on ship-board 
to homage of the "stars and stripes ;" but, 
doubtless by the De Lancey connection 
was led to a generous and, it may be said 
fairly, an intelligent, treatment of the 
better class of the Tory element, as shown 
in "The Spy" and "Wyandotte." After 
leaving the navy he resided, about a year 
and a half at Heathcote Hall, Mamaro- 
neck, the home of his wife's father ; then 
rented a cottage for a year in the neigh- 
borhood ; in 1814 he began the building 
of a stone mansion, just outside of 
Cooperstown called Fenimore, planning 
to engage in agricultural pursuits, mean- 
while lingering on the Angevine farm in 
Westchester and, with Fenimore com- 
pleted, settling there in 1817. Meanwhile 
also he was increasing his stock of his- 
toric and scenic knowledge, unconscious- 
ly, as it would seem, fitting himself for 
authorship by that shrewd observation 
which, in the last analysis, is the car- 
dinal equipment for composition of a 
high order. The faculty of reproducing, 
in masterful fashion, impresions thus re- 
ceived, is given to but few, and of these 
few James Fenimore Cooper is eminently 
one. 

The idea that he had this faculty came 
to him, as the story goes, accidentally, 
when he was thirty years old. .'\t Ange- 
vine, he was. one day, reading to his wife 
a novel, descriptive of English society. 
It did not commend itself to him and, 
casting the book aside, he exclaimed, "I 
believe I could write a better story my- 
self." Bantered by his wife to make his 



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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



assertion good, he immediately set about 
his task and produced "Precaution," pub- 
lished November lo, 1820, in two vol- 
umes. It was not a success. He did not 
avail himself of his own resources. It 
was a slavish imitation of English style, 
with English scenes and characters, at- 
tracting no public interest and less pat- 
ronage. He was ashamed of it, and it 
was never, with his consent, included in 
complete editions of his works. If "Pre- 
caution" was an humiliation, his next 
work, which he naively called his atone- 
ment, was a memorable triumph. It was 
only by the urgency of friends that he 
made his second venture. They knew him 



to popular taste and feeling. No Amer- 
ican author has had such acceptance as 
Cooper with "The Spy," only Irving, Mrs. 
Stowe and possibly "Alark Twain" rival- 
ling him in popularity ; even Walter 
Scott, at the zenith of his fame, did not 
excel Cooper in this regard. Attesting 
this, and worth quoting, is what S. F. 15. 
Morse, the inventor of the magnetic tele- 
graph, wrote some three years later: "I 
have visited in Europe many countries 
and what I have asserted of the fame of 
Mr. Cooper I assert from personal knowl- 
edge. In every city of Europe that I 
visited the works of Cooper were con- 
spicuously placed in the windows of 



better than he knew himself, confident every bookshop. They are published as 



that if he could do something in describ- 
ing persons and events of which he knew 
nothing (for there were glimpses of 
genius even in "Precaution"), he could 
do much in depicting those which he 
imderstood. Thus persuaded, he tried. 
The direct impulse to the production of 
his second story came from a conversa- 
tion had with John Jay, in which the gov- 
ernor told of the shrewdness, courage 
and patriotism of a spy, whom he had 
employed in the war, a relation with 
which Cooper was profoundly impressed 
and he used it as the basis of the tale that 
he was persuaded to write. The result 
was "The Spy," published December 22, 
1821. Its success was instantaneous. Its 
sale in this country was unprecedented. 
Edition followed edition rapidly. In de- 
spite of Sydney Smith's dictum that "no- 
body reads an American book," its circu- 
lation in England outran that here. As 
translated, its reception in France was 
of the most enthusiastic kind, as it was 
also in most of the European realms. Its 
new departure in subject and style; its 
adventurous and patriotic spirit ; its in- 



soon as he produces them in thirty-four 
different places in Europe. They have 
been seen by American travelers in the 
languages of Turkey and Persia, in Con- 
stantinople, in Egypt, at Jerusalem, at 
Ispahan." 

The auspicious fate of "The Spy" de- 
noted conclusively Cooper's career. 
Thenceforth he was an author exclu- 
sively. In 1822 he moved to New York 
and dwelt either there or in its suburbs 
until his departure for Europe, four years 
later. Pecuniary difficulties had vexed 
him at Fenimore. The property left by 
his father had diminished in value and his 
elder brothers, who had administered the 
estate successively, had died, leaving him 
burdened, rather than benefited by it; 
but from his financial embarrassments 
the profits of his writings had relieved 
him ; and his need of consulting author- 
ities and the limited mail facilities with 
his rural home induced the change. From 
1820 to 1831 — the hey-day of his vogue — 
he wrote ceaselessly and voluminously, 
producing eleven works, some among his 
greatest — "The Pioneers" (1823"), the first 



vigorating atmosphere; its bold and vivid of the famous "Leather Stocking Tales," 
portraiture; its exciting and dramatic sit- as published, "The Last of the Mohicans" 
uations combined in its persuasive appeal (1826), upon the whole his chef d'ceuvre, 

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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and "The Pilot," the first of his sea 
stories and, in some respects, the best of 
them. Others of the period were "Lionel 
Lincoln" (1825), "The Prairie" (1827), 
"The Red Rover" (1828), "The Wept of 
Wish-ton-Wish" (1829), "The Water 
Witch" (1830), and "The Bravo" (1831) 
— all but the first named written abroad. 
In 1826 he realized a desire he had long 
entertained — a sojourn abroad. Accord- 
ingly, he sailed with his family from New 
York, June i, and was away until No- 
vember 5, 1833 — seven years and a half. 
He had been appointed consul at Lyons, 
France, a position he retained until 1829. 
His duties not being exacting, he in- 
dulged in numerous excursions and, for 
the last four years, was free to roam at 
will. The major portion of his time was 
spent in France, but there were protract- 
ed stays in London, Berne, Dresden, 
Florence, Rome, Sorrento and Venice. 
From July, 1830, until his return to the 
United States, he resided almost wholly 
in Paris. He was lionized wherever he 
abode, the civilities of which did not ap- 
peal to him and which he avoided as 
much as possible. Of all the countries 
with which he became acquainted he was 
fondest of Italy. Its scenery, climate and 
people gained an enduring hold upon his 
heart and he said of the latter: "In one 
of those deliciously irritating and double- 
acting sentences he was afterward in the 
haljit of frequently uttering that in grace 
of mind and in love and even knowledge 
of the arts a large portion of the common 
Italians were, in his opinion, as much 
superior to the Anglo-Saxons as civiliza- 
tion is to barbarism" (Lounsbury's 
"Coojicr"). In addition to the works al- 
ready mentioned he wrote while abroad 
a "Letter to Gen. La Fayette on the Ex- 
penditure of the LInited States" (1831), 
"The Heidenmauer, or the Benedictines: 
A Legend of the Rhine" (1832), "Letter 



to the American Public" (1832), and 
"The Headsman of Berne" (1833). 

Upon his return. Cooper lived for two 
or three winters in New York City, spend- 
ing the summers in Cooperstown. Hav- 
ing in 1834 acquired possession of his 
father's place, "Otsego Hall," that had 
for a long time been tenantless and was 
falling into decay, he repaired and occu- 
pied it. The neighbors dubbed it "Tem- 
pleton Hall," with reference to "The Pio- 
neers." Therein he passed the rest of his 
life, and wrote the stories which rounded 
out his literary fame — "The Pathfinder" 
(1840), "The Deerslayer" (1841), "The 
Two Admirals" (1842), "Wing-and- 
Wing" (1842), "Wyandotte" (1843), 
"Ned Myers" (1843), "Afloat and Ashore" 
(1844), "Satan's Foe" (Colonial) (1845). 
But he wrote much upon other lines 
than those of the imagination and with 
other ends in view. His keen, observant 
eyes, which described the ideals of the 
forest and the romance of the sea, also 
pierced existing political and social con- 
ditions. His fidelity to truth, as he es- 
teemed it, that he served as passionately 
as a knight errant did devoir to his lady 
fair, constrained him to expose their per- 
versities and infelicities; and, it is not 
extravagant to say, he became the chief 
censor of his time. His imperial will de- 
clared itself dogmatically, if not arro- 
gantly. His peculiar sensitiveness to 
criticism — in singular contrast to his self- 
assertiveness — accentuated his contro- 
versial bent, betraying him into extremely 
ill-considered and intemperate utterance, 
provocative of the calumnies which in re- 
tort were heaped upon him, minimizing 
the popularity that his imaginative works 
had enjoyed, multiplying detractors and 
involving him in litigations, justificatory 
of his character, as well as his pen, main- 
tained by him with inflexible purpose and 
unflinching courage, if with imperfect 
judgment. 
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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Cooper's crusade had two objectives 
— castigation of evils that he found in 
European nations, especially in England. 
and rebuke of those in his own, with a 
view to their correction. The exaltation 
of democratic and the denunciation of 
oligarchical systems was pronounced in 
"The Bravo," otherwise a novel of the 
most stirring incident and vital imagi- 
native quality, which Cooper regarded as 
his finest production, "The Heidenmauer ' 
and "The Headsman." The social stric- 
tures permeate "The Red Rover," "The 
Wept-of-Wish-ton-Wish," "Gleanings in 
Europe," and are intense in "Notions of 
the Americans," wherein English society 
is described as more repulsive, artificial, 
cumbered and absurd than that of any 
other Europeon nation. His reflections 
upon the habits, manners, morals and cer- 
tain political manifestions of his own 
countrymen in "The Monnikins" (1838), 
"Homeward Bound" (1838), "Home As 
Found," etc., were even more caustic than 
upon those of other peoples. Thurlow 
Weed, in an exasperated moment, and 
with a profusion of capitals, wrote that 
Cooper "disparaged American Lakes, ridi- 
culed American Society, burlesqued .\mer- 
ican Coin and even satirized the Ameri- 
can Flag." Incongruous, as this may seem, 
with his ingrained Americanism, his 
idolization of American institutions and 
his beatific vision of American destinies, 
it finds its explanation in that while he 
was a democrat by conviction he was an 
aristocrat in feeling and deportment. 

The tempest that succeeded these effu- 
sions was as violent as it was widespread. 
He had wounded the national vanity 
sorely. Denial, detraction, ridicule, in- 
vective, rage, followed fast and furious. 
The press was almost a unit in belabor- 
ing him — the Whig journals, with the 
leaven of Federalism still fermenting 
them, wholly so, while those of the 
Democracy, with which he was nomi- 



nally allied, were alienated from him by 
his attacks on the doctrine of Free Trade, 
the Albany "Argus" and the New York 
"Evening Post," alone among party 
organs, supporting or excusing him. He 
refrained from aggressive action until 
aspersions upon his honor, which he up- 
held tenaciously, became unendurable and 
impelled him to seek redress in the courts. 
The direct origin of the notorious libel 
suits, in which he was engaged for years 
1837-42), was the bitter assault upon 
his character by the Norwich "Adver- 
tiser," anent the disputed title to a plot 
of land in Cooperstown, of which he was 
the rightful owner as against the claim 
of the citizens that his father had dedi- 
cated it to public uses. This attack was 
re-enforced by articles of like tenor in 
the New York "Courier and Enquirer," 
the Albany "Journal," the New York 
"Tribune" and other sheets, against 
which, as well as the "Advertiser," Cooper 
instituted suits. There were in all about 
a dozen, the major number being against 
the "Journal," in nearly all of which re- 
coveries were had, Thurlow Weed finally 
making retraction as broad as the 
charges ; and all being distinguished by 
the skill with which Cooper, not a lawyer 
by profession, conducted his own cases, 
acquiring the reputation of being the one 
man in the country best acquainted with 
the law of libel. 

On May 10, 1839, his "History of the 
United States Navy" was issued, for the 
preparation of which, as has been seen, 
he was peculiarly qualified. It is re- 
markable for diligence in research, candor 
of narrative and aptness of description. 
It is rightfully esteemed as the standard 
history of the navy for the period covered 
and is entitled to a high place in historical 
literature. Upon its appearance, how- 
ever, captious critics, who were also his 
personal enemies, challenged certain of 
his statements as falsehoods, British re- 



127 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



viewers charging him with misstate- 
ments concerning the naval engagements 
of the war of 1812, and American news- 
papers alleging that, in describing the 
battle of Lake Erie, he praised unduly 
Commodore Elliott, then a captain and 
second in command, thereby inferentially 
disparaging Commodore Perry, to whom 
the glory of the victory belonged. This 
was a serious matter, involving Cooper 
in fresh controversies and libel suits. He 
sued the New York "Commercial Adver- 
tiser," then edited by William L. Stone, 
recovering damages and sustaining his 
version. In 1843 he published a pam- 
phlet, "The Battle of Lake Erie," review- 
ing the whole matter, showing conclu- 
sively that he had intended no reflection 
upon Perry and that his original state- 
ment was in complete accord with Perry's 
official report of the action. In 1846 
Cooper wrote "The Lives of Distin- 
guished American Naval Officers." Dur- 
ing his last years, his production of novels 
was industrious, without materially en- 
hancing his reputation that had been 
permanently established. They were 
"The Crater" (1847), "Jack Tier" (1848), 
"The Oak Openings" (1848), "The Sea 
Lions" (1849) and "The Ways of the 
Hour" (1850). 

And there came to him, ere he passed 
away, a refluent wave of popularity. The 
sale of his works, which had greatly de- 
clined throughout the turbulent years, 
materially appreciated. A new genera- 
tion that had no part in and little knowl- 
edge of the wrangles that had plagued 
him, delighted in the spell of his genius, 
while the older generation began to think 
that he had suffered enough of persecu- 
tion and obloquy. His own disposition 
toward the world mellowed as the years 
advanced, his serenity measurably due to 
the increasing fervor of his religious feel- 
ing. He had always been an adherent, 
if not a communicant of the church in 



which he was in 1850 confirmed by 
Bishop De Lancey. In private inter- 
course, he was ever a lovable man. He 
was pure, frank, generous, forbearing and 
absolutely loyal to his friendships. His 
domestic life was singularly upright, de- 
voted and tender. Physically he was a 
fine specimen of a man, of massive and 
compact form, dignified carriage and 
strong and regular features. Until within 
a year of his death, he had experienced 
excellent health, but, in the summer of 
1850, its impairment, eventuating in corn- 
firmed dropsy, began, and soon expecta- 
tion of recovery was abandoned, and, Sep- 
tember 14, 1851, he died at his home 
peacefully and hopefully. He was within 
a day of sixty-two years of age. In a 
little more than four months, his wife 
followed him. They rest side by side in 
the grounds of Christ's Church at Coop- 
erstown. There were born to them five 
daughters and two sons, all save one 
reaching maturity. The second daugh- 
ter, Susan Augusta, was the author and 
editor of several popular works, chiefly 
descriptive of rural life, and Cooper's sec- 
retary and amanuensis ; she died Octo- 
ber 31, 1894. His second son, Paul Feni- 
more, long a prominent lawyer, died April 
21, 1895. 

The best biography of Cooper is by 
Professor Thomas R. Lounsbury, of Yale 
University, recently deceased. Especially 
valuable for its analysis of Cooper's style. 



TALCOTT, Samuel A., 

Great I4air7er. 

Among the legal luminaries of the Em- 
pire State, by the Upper Hudson, in 
Oneida and Ontario, as well as in the 
metropolis, in the early decades of the 
nineteenth century, succeeding the death 
of Hamilton — primus inter pares — there is 
none more illustrious than Samuel A. 
Talcott. If contemporary opinion may 



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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



be trusted, he was the most brilliant of 
all. He was, indeed, a prodigy of learn- 
ing and a marvel of persuasive address. 
We may follow his career in restraint, 
rather than in excess, of eulogy, tempered 
with the sad reflection that his harmful 
habits gloomed his genius and brought 
him to an untimely grave at the very 
meridian of his genius. 

Samuel Austin Talcott was of worthy 
New England lineage, descended directly 
from Joseph Talcott, the first governor of 
Connecticut who was born within its 
borders; the grandson of Samuel Talcott, 
sheriflf, colonel, etc., in the colony ; and 
son of the second Samuel, of Hartford, 
who died in early manhood. His mother 
was Abigail, daughter of John Ledyard, 
of Bristol, England, and sister of Colonel 
Ledyard, who perished heroically in the 
defense of Fort Groton against the as- 
sault of the traitor, Arnold. Samuel A. 
was born in Hartford, December 31, 1789. 
His early education was gained at a dame 
school, in his native city, under the suc- 
ceeding tutorship of Dr. McClure, in East 
Windsor, and in the classical prelimi- 
naries at Colchester Academy. He was 
of marked precocity and diligent study ; 
and entered the sophomore class of Wil- 
liams College, in 1806, graduating there- 
from in 1809, at the age of nineteen. Ma- 
ture beyond his years, he was easily the 
first scholar of his class and the most 
gifted orator of the college. Stories of 
his intellectual feats long lingered among 
college traditions, as the writer of this 
sketch from residence there, many years 
subsequently, can testify. A classmate, 
a man of mark himself, the Hon. William 
H. Dillingham, thus describes him : 

All those extraordinary qualities were devel- 
oped which marked his career and so greatly 
distinguished him in after life — towering genius 
and profound investigation; astonishing facility 
in acquiring knowledge and a memory which 
never lost what it had acquired; surpassing elo- 

N Y-Vol 1-9 129 



quence as a writer and speaker; a mind which 
could grasp and master whatever was most diffi- 
cult in the abstruse sciences and at the same 
time exhibiting powers of imagination, wit, 
humor, raillery and sarcasm which have been 
rarely equalled. To all these were added the 
advantages of a commanding person, unrivaled 
address, a head and eye and countenance, "the 
pattern of a man." He was in all respects most 
truly one of Nature's noblemen. His heart was 
generous to a fault and he had a soul which 
knew no fear. 

Soon after graduation, Talcott, like 
many bright New England boys, some 
of whom have been noticed elsewhere in 
this work, came with the still advancing 
host who were to people and fashion Cen- 
tral New York. He found his residence 
in Whitesboro, then a considerable vil- 
lage, now a suburb of, but then rivalling, 
Utica in the ambition to become the lead- 
ing mart of Oneida county which had 
been set oS from Herkimer some ten 
years previously. There was no question 
in Talcott's mind concerning his voca- 
tion. Both his desire and ability inclined 
him to the law ; and accordingly, he stud- 
ied in the ofifice of the Hon. Thomas R. 
Gold, who had been a State Senator and 
was also a representative in the Eleventh, 
Twelfth and Fourteenth Congresses from 
the then strong Federalist district of 
Oneida and adjacent counties. Upon Tal- 
cott's admission to the bar, he opened an 
office in Lowville, in the wilderness of 
Northern New York, but then, as now, 
attractive in its comely features and the 
character of its inhabitants — refined and 
cultivated — and already the seat of one 
of the famous academies of the State. 
There, with growing reputation and fair 
emoluments, he practiced some three or 
four years ; but, in 1816, returned to 
Oneida county and, at Utica, formed a 
partnership with William H. Maynard, 
another of New York's great lawyers, 
with whom he had contracted a friend- 
ship in college days, Maynard being in 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the class below him. A vacancy being 
occasioned at New Hartford, by the re- 
moval of General Joseph Kirkland, Tal- 
cott made his home therein, but con- 
tinued, with his associate in Utica, to 
maintain an office in both places. 

On February 12, 1821, he received the 
appointment of attorney-general of the 
State, when he removed to Albany and 
lived there until his retirement from that 
office nine years subsequently, and then 
repaired to New York, where he re- 
mained until his death. The office of 
attorney-general, during Talcott's incum- 
bency, was, as now, regarded both as a 
political preferment and a legal recog- 
nition. Talcott is said to have been a 
Federalist in his predilections, these, jier- 
haps, having been imbibed in Gold's 
office, but, in due time, he became a pro- 
nounced Republican, with "Bucktail" 
affiliations, winning the respect, as well 
as the favor, of the managers of that 
party — the Albany Regency. Hardly had 
he been installed at the capital, when he 
became intimately associated with that 
potent body of politicians, and soon was 
one of its most influential members, not 
as the designer of partisan schemes, but 
as the promoter of judicious govern- 
mental policies and cleaner procedures. 
To him, more, perhaps, than to any other 
who sat at its famed council table, is to 
be referred the higher standard of politi- 
cal morality, that it admittedly, even by 
its foes, ordained. He was the soul of 
honor, scorning the baser methods and 
manipulations of politics. With his epi- 
sodical connection with the Regency his 
service as a politician begins and ends. 
It is useless to speculate upon the tri- 
umphs of statesmanship he might have 
achieved had he so willed. He would 
surely have shone lustrous in legislative 
laws with pearls of thought and dia- 
monds of speech. It is not in evidence 
that he desired this, for his life and being 



were in his profession ; but it is in evi- 
dence that his unfortunate habits, to 
which reference is necessary in a review 
of his life, precluded him from the oppor- 
tunity that otherwise might have been 
presented. 

It is as a lawyer that he is almost solely 
to be considered. He never held a purely 
political office. His duties as attorney- 
general were strictly in the line of his 
profession ; and his only other public posi- 
tion was that as regent of the university 
— 1S23-29 — which has always been abso- 
lutely non-political in its purposes and 
functions. Upon his capacity as a law- 
yer, the concordant encomiums of his 
time may seem extravagant, but they also 
seem to be wholly justified. He was one 
of the country's greatest lawyers, if not 
the greatest, as many have contended he 
was. What made him so great? Funda- 
mentally, he had a genius for the law 
inspiring and impelling him to utter 
consecration to its calling. He was pro- 
foundly, even phenomenally, versed in 
the law — its statutes, its constitutions, its 
pandects, its codes, its text-books, with a 
seemingly exhaustless knowledge of its 
precedents. Were it not too narrow a 
definition — for he was much more than 
that — he might be called a case lawyer 
of the first order. He appeared to have 
all reports at his fingers' tips. Anecdotes 
illustrative of this and indicative of his 
prodigious memory are numerous. One 
must suffice, as related by the late Hon. 
Charles Dayan, of Lowville, who with 
Russell Parish, both becoming prominent 
in their profession and in public life, was 
a student, at the time, in Talcott's office 
there: 

Mr. Talcott was, I think, the laziest man I 
ever knew. He would lie in bed until 10 o'clock 
and would lounge for hours. In fact, I seldom 
ever saw him read a book; and we began to set 
him down as an ignorant, clownish fellow. So 
Parish and I one day laid a plan to trap and 



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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



expose him by asking about some principle of 
law in which we had been posting ourselves 
from the books. Mr. Talcott replied that the 
principle had been discussed, some years ago, 
and referred us to a case in the English term 
reports, mentioning the judge, the year, volume 
and page. Turning to this authority, we found 
the matter fully stated and decision given. 
"Now," said he, "are you satisfied?" "Yes, of 
course; it is quite plain." "But," said he, "in 
a cause reported, some years later, this same 
principle arose and was settled in a different 
way." Having recourse to the volume, page and 
names of parties indicated we found the deci- 
sion (this time by Lord Mansfield) as he had 
informed us. We again declared ourselves fully 
satisfied. But, remarking that the law was very 
uncertain, he cited another case, some years 
later, in which a third decision had been ren- 
dered differing from either of the former ones. 
We never again undertook to cross-examine 
Mr. Talcott upon principles of law, but found 
him always ready to cite from memory upon any 
point on which we desired information. 

And this upon the threshold of his 
career ! With genius for and learning in 
his profession, he was also singularly 
self-reliant. His heart was in every case 
he undertook. To each he gave the most 
searching and exclusive study, refusing 
all assistance and never appearing in 
court with a brief prepared, even in part, 
by an associate. Thtis, the master of his 
case, he apprehended exactly the points 
upon which he should lay peculiar stress; 
and his arguments, therefore, were 
models of precision. Thus also his pleas 
were informed with fervor, revealing his 
faith in and persuading his audience of 
the justice of his cause. He was a con- 
summate orator. His voice was at once 
melodious and resonant ; charged with 
emotion, imagination, wit, reason and 
power, while play of features and grace 
of action appreciated its magnetic qual- 
ity. Thus equipped, Talcott rapidly at- 
tained reputation and success. In the 
absence of authentic reports, there are 
few accounts of his exploits as a trial 
lawyer, but his skill as such is still 



among the legal traditions of Central New 
York. From the time, however, that he 
settled in Albany, his engagements were 
confined substantially to the appellate 
courts of the State, in which his presence 
was demanded imperatively; and, upward 
moving, he was soon regarded as the 
commanding figure before that august 
tribunal, the Supreme Court of the 
United States, and Daniel Webster, con- 
fessing that Talcott was the only antag- 
onist he feared to meet, characterized him 
as the greatest lawyer in America, in 
which opinion Martin Van Buren con- 
curred ; and Chief Justice Marshall, pre- 
siding in the "Sailor's Snug Harbor" suit, 
in which Webster and Talcott were op- 
posed to each other, observed that Tal- 
cott's argument had not been equalled in 
the court since the days of that renowned 
advocate, William Pinckney. 

But Talcott betrayed a weakness un- 
worthy of him. Like Erskine, the most 
distinguished of English advocates, he 
craved applause inordinately and with 
this the foolish vanity was linked of wish- 
ing to have it thought that all his display 
came by inspiration and was not the 
product of earnest study and prolonged 
research ; and so he loitered through in- 
glorious days of ease, or indulged in un- 
seemly revels, and toiled in secluded 
chambers, the while he burned the mid- 
night oil. There can be no doubt that he 
resorted to stimulants to repair the waste 
thus occasioned and to quicken his facul- 
ties, until they finally mastered him. It 
is not to be inferred, however, that they 
essentially impaired his manhood, for he 
remained pure in morals otherwise, hon- 
est in his business conduct, affectionate 
in his domestic relations and fascinating 
in his intercourse with his fellows. 
Toward the last, at least, his one fault 
seriously interfered with his professional 
usefulness and rewards by the loss of re- 
tainers, through his negligence or inabil- 



131 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ity to keep his engagements, when he 
mustered all his olden strength and 
flashed in all its olden splendor. His life 
darkened as it closed. He died in New 
York City, March 19, 1836, in the forty- 
seventh year of his age. He had married 
twice. His first wife was Rachel, daugh- 
ter of Deacon Skinner, of Williamstown, 
Massachusetts, by whom he had two chil- 
dren — John Ledyard, of Buffalo, an able 
judge of the Supreme Court of New York, 
and a daughter who died in infancy ; by 
his second wife, Mary Eliza Stanley, he 
had one son — Thomas Grosvenor, of 
Hartford, Connecticut. 



NELSON, Samuel, 

La-wyer, Jurist. 

Beginning with John Jay, the first 
chief justice. New York has been hon- 
ored by having eight of her sons exalted 
to seats in the Supreme Court of the 
United States. Among these is Samuel 
Nelson, distinguished both for the extra- 
ordinary length and the capacity of his 
judicial service. He was on the bench, 
from early in 1823 until late in 1872 — a 
period of nearly fifty years. This is with- 
out parallel either in this country or in 
England, the tenure of Chief Justice Mar- 
shall being thirty-four years, of Chief Jus- 
tice Taney, thirty, and of Justice Story, 
thirty-four, in the one, and of Lord Mans- 
field, thirty-two, and of Lord Eldon, twen- 
ty-eight, in the other. The Hon. Benjamin 
D. Silliman, in a notable reminiscent ad- 
dress, on the sixtieth anniversary of his 
admission to practice, speaks of Nelson 
as "the most imperial man in his personal 
appearance and bearing on the bench I 
ever saw, unsurpassed in clear, strong, 
sound sense and good law, honored and 
loved by the bar and the pride of the 
State." In the review of his life, this de- 
lineation will be seen to be fully justified. 
Samuel Nelson, of Scotch-Irish de- 



scent, the founder of the American branch 
having located in Salem, Washington 
county, in 1760, was born in Hebron, in 
the same county, November 10, 1792. He 
attended the common schools, in his na- 
tive town, was graduated in 1813 from 
Middlebury College, that sterling Demo- 
crat, Silas Wright, Jr., with whom he had 
ever the most intimate relations, being 
two classes below him. He pursued his 
legal studies with Chief Justice Savage, in 
Salem, and, after his admission to the bar, 
settled in Cortland, where he rapidly won 
local distinction as a lawyer and favor as. 
a politician of the JefTersonian school, as 
shown by his being chosen a Monroe 
presidential elector, in 1820, an office 
usually conferred upon one of greater 
age and means. In 1821, he was dele- 
gated to the State Constitutional Conven- 
tion, probably the youngest, but not an 
inconsequential, member of that body, in 
which he labored earnestly for the larger 
measure of popular freedom that it or- 
dained and aided essentially in the aboli- 
tion of the property qualification for the 
elective franchise. On April 21, 1823. by 
appointment of Governor Yates, con- 
firmed by the Senate, he became the judge 
of the Sixth Circuit. This preferment 
was not without a certain political sig- 
nificance, as, indeed, were few judicial 
appointments at that period; but it was 
also a marked and well deserved recog- 
nition of the legal worth of one who had 
not yet attained his thirty-first birthday. 
His conduct as a judge of original juris- 
diction — firm, dispassionate and enlight- 
ened — showed that no mistake had been 
made in his selection. Historically con- 
sidered, his name is more closely asso- 
ciated with what are known as the anti- 
Masonic cases, than with others over 
which he presided ; he being designated, 
in conjunction with Judge, afterwards 
Governor, Marcy, to hold special circuits 
for the trial of the parties accused of the 

'32 







.y^X^^^-^ '^J^^^^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



abduction of William Morgan. By them, 
many persons were convicted and pun- 
ished as aiders and abettors of the crime. 
In 1825 Judge Nelson married the only 
daughter of Judge Russell, of Coopers- 
town, and became a resident of that vil- 
lage, purchasing in 1829 "Fenimore" 
(I'idc Cooper sketch) and enlarging the 
farm house thereon, converting it into 
the spacious and handsome dwelling 
which was, for the remainder of his days, 
his home. 

On February i, 1831, Judge Nelson 
was appointed by Governor Throop an 
associate justice of the Supreme Court, 
and on August 31, 1837, was promoted by 
Governor Marcy to the chief justiceship, 
a position which he continued to occupy 
until, on February 13, 1845, he was made 
by President Tyler an associate judge of 
the Supreme Court of the United States. 
The character of his service in the high- 
est court of the State, of canon law jur- 
isdiction, has been stated, in general, but 
glowing terms, in the extract from Mr. 
Silliman's address, heretofore quoted and 
needs not to be rehearsed specifically. He 
illustrated throughout a conservative ju- 
dicial temperament. Deliberate in reach- 
ing conclusions, carefully weighing evi- 
dence, scrupulous in upholding equities 
and considerate toward litigants whose 
claims he was constrained to deny. His 
opinions were invariably informed with 
wisdom and discretion. Thus they com- 
mended themselves to the respect of the 
bar and jurists generally and are still 
cited as authoritative. A like intelligence, 
candor and integrity of judgment mark 
his deliverances in the supreme judica- 
ture of the land and they are regarded 
highly. In the long and distinguished list 
of the incumbents in that tribunal few 
have excelled him either in knowledge or 
virtue. The most famous of the cases, in 
the adjudication of which he had part, is- 
that of "Dred Scott," in which he con- 



curred with the ruling of Chief Justice 
Taney and a majority of the court, re- 
manding the appellant to servitude, upon 
the ground, as expressed in Nelson's opin- 
ion, that if Congress possessed power to 
restrict or abolish slavery, it must cer- 
tainly possess equal power to maintain 
and protect it. In 1846 he was again 
elected to a state constitutional conven- 
tion, but does not appear to have engaged 
actively in its proceedings ; and he did not 
sign the instrument that it formulated. 

Politically, Judge Nelson was an old- 
line Democrat — of the "Hunker" stripe in 
New York — freely and frankly avowing 
his sentiments, so far as he felt warranted 
in doing consistently with judicial pro- 
priety. He believed in safe-guarding the 
muniments of slavery within constitu- 
tional limitations, cordially approved the 
compromise measures of 1850, and as 
cordially sustained the Pierce and Bu- 
chanan administrations and severely dep- 
recated the "personal liberty" acts of 
northern legislatures. Doubtless had he 
been in Congress, he would uniformly 
have acted with the southern wing of his 
party. He sincerely deplored the con- 
troversy between the sections, reaching 
its acute stage with the election of Lin- 
coln and did all that he could to avert its 
blood-stained determination in the seces- 
sion of the cotton States ; but when the 
tocsin of war was sounded, he promptly 
proclaimed his fealty to the Union and 
was known as a "War Democrat," al- 
though he criticized throughout those in- 
fractions of the civil law by military force 
to which President Lincoln thought it 
necessary to resort in order to assure the 
safety of the republic. 

With the advent of the year 1863, hav- 
ing reached the age of seventy, it was at 
Judge Nelson's option to retire from the 
court, with undiminished salary, or to 
continue in his office, while health and 
strength permitted. He chose the lat- 



133 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ter. His last public service, to which 
he was commissioned by President 
Grant, was that of a member of the joint 
high commission of arbitration to adjust 
the claims against Great Britain ensuing 
from the depredations of the "Alabama ;" 
and he is credited with contributing es- 
sentially to the findings reached, con- 
ducive alike to the honor of both nations; 
but his arduous labors in this connection, 
with undue exposure to the cold, seri- 
ously threatened his health ; and, Novem- 
ber 28, 1872, he resigned as associate 
judge, eliciting from Secretary Fish, to 
whom his letter was addressed, an affec- 
tional recognition of the "administration 
of justice to which, for half a century, 
you have contributed an amount of pa- 
tient labor and of learning and a purity, 
dignity and impartiality which have 
commanded the confidence, esteem and 
admiration of an entire nation and the 
acknowledgments of jurists in other 
lands." This was succeeded by tributes 
from bar associations — those of Wash- 
ington, Albany and many others, and 
more especially that of New York City 
at a meeting presided over by Charles 
O'Conor, an address being adopted and a 
committee appointed to present it to the 
judge at Cooperstown, which was done 
on February 13, 1873 — a red-letter day 
for the fair village. To it Judge Nelson 
responded feelingly. He said among 
other things: "The address of the Bar 
of New York on the termination of my 
judicial labors and in approbation of 
them, I look upon as the crowning re- 
ward which will be a source of perpetual 
consolation in the decline of life and so 
long as a kind Providence shall permit 
the speaker to linger here on earth in the 
enjoyment of faculties unimpaired." He 
lingered but a few months, disease mak- 
ing constant inroads upon his once robust 
frame and died, December 13, 1873, at the 
age of eighty-one, attended by the vener- 



ation of the State and the lamentation of 
his immediate friends and neighbors. 



SCHOOLCRAFT, Henry Rowe, 

Ethnologist. 

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was born in 
Watervliet, New York, March 28, 1793; 
son of Colonel Lawrence and Margaret 
Anne Barbara (Rowe) Schoolcraft, 
grandson of John and Anna Barbara 
(Boss) Schoolcraft, and great-grandson 
of James Calcraft, who came from Eng- 
land to Canada in the military service of 
the crown in 1727, and subsequently set- 
tled in Albany county, New York, where 
he engaged in surveying and school 
teaching, and changed his name to 
Schoolcraft. Colonel Lawrence School- 
craft served in the Revolution, and as an 
officer in the War of 1812. 

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft was a student 
at Middlebury College, Vermont, and at 
Union College, Schenectady, New York. 
He learned the trade of glass making 
under his father, and during 1817-1S, 
made a collection of minerals in Missouri 
and Arkansas. He joined General Lewis 
Cass' exploring expedition to Lake Su- 
perior and the headwaters of the Missis- 
sippi in 1820; was secretary of the Board 
of Indian Commissioners at Chicago, 
Illinois, in 1821, and Indian agent at Sault 
Ste. Marie and Mackinaw, 1822-36. In 
October, 1823, he married Jane, daughter 
of John Johnston, and maternal grand- 
daughter of Waboojeeg, the Ojibway 
chief. 

He was a member of the territorial 
Legislature of Michigan, 1828-31. He 
conducted a party of explorers to Lake 
Itasca in 1832, and through a treaty 
which he made with the Indians on the 
Upper Lakes in 1836, the United States 
gained possession of 16,000,000 acres of 
Indian lands. He superintended Indian 
affairs and was disbursing agent on the 



134 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



northwest frontier, 1837-41. He removed 
to New York City in 1S41 ; visited Eu- 
rope in 1S42, and also Virginia, Oliio and 
Canada, 1843-44. In 1845 h^ collected 
the United States census of New York 
Indian tribes, and of the Six Nations for 
the New York Legislature in 1845-47. 
In the latter year Congress authorized 
him to collect and edit information rela- 
tive to the condition of the Indian tribes; 
this work occupied the remainder of his 
life, and Congress expended in its prepara- 
tion $150,000. He was married in January. 
1847, to Mary Howard, of Beaufort dis- 
trict, South Carolina, who was his assist- 
ant in the preparation of his later works, 
which were written when he was con- 
hned to his chair by paralysis. She was 
the author of: "The Black Gauntlet, a 
Tale of Plantation Life in South Caro- 
lina" (i860). 

Mr. Schoolcraft received the degree of 
LL. D. from the University of Geneva in 
1846; was a founder of the Michigan His- 
torical Society in 1828, of the Algic So- 
ciety in 1831, and of the American Ethno- 
logical Society in 1841, and was a mem- 
ber of numerous historical and scientific 
societies of the United States and Europe. 
He was awarded a gold medal from the 
French Institute for his lectures on the 
construction of the Indian language. His 
published volumes include the following; 
"Mineralogy and Geology of Missouri 
and Arkansas" (1819) ; "Trans-Alle- 
gania, or the Groans of Missouri" (1820) ; 
"Journal of a Tour in the Interior of 
Missouri and Arkansas" (1820) ; "Travels 
from Detroit to the Source of the Missis- 
sippi" (1821) : "Travels in the Central 
Portions of the Mississippi Valley" 
(1825) ; "The Rise of the West," a poem 
(1827); "Indian Melodies" (1830): "The 
Man of Bronze" (1834) ; "Narrative of an 
Expedition through the Upper Missis- 
sippi to Itasca Lake" (1834); "Iosco, or 
the Vale of Norma" (1834) ; "Algic Re- 



searches" (1839); "Alhalla, or the Land 
of Talladega," a poem (1843) ) "Oneota, 
or Characteristics of the Red Ra'je of 
America" (1844-45) ; "Plan for Investi- 
gating American Ethnology" (1846) ; 
"Notes on the Iroquois" (1846) ; "The 
Red Race of America" (1847) ; "Notices 
of Antique Earthen Vessels from Florida" 
(1847) ; "Life and Character of General 
Lewis Cass" (1848) ; "Bibliographical 
Catalogue of Books in the Indian Ton- 
gues of the United States" (1849); 
"American Indians" (1850) ; "Personal 
Memoirs of a Residence of Thirty Years 
with the Indian Tribes on the American 
Frontier, 1812-42" (1851) ; "Historical 
and Statistical Information, respecting 
History, Condition and Prospects of the 
Indian Tribes of the United States" (six 
volumes, 1S51-57) ; "Summary Narrative 
of an Exploratory Expedition to the 
Sources of the Mississippi River in 1820, 
resumed and completed by the Discovery 
of its Origin in Itasca Lake in 1832" 
(1854); "Helderbergia," a poem (1855); 
and the "Myth of Hiawatha, and Notes 
for The Indian Fairy Book from Orien- 
tal Legends" (1855). He died in Wash- 
ington, December 10, 1864. 



WILLIAMS, Elisha, 

Lawyer, Legislator, Orator. 

In preparing these sketches, it has been 
difficult to discriminate and yet do justice 
to our subjects — at once to avoid repeti- 
tion and indicate individual merit. The 
supply of adjectives that the dictionary 
affords is inadequate to the purpose ; and 
the work has been peculiarly trying in so 
far as the legal profession is concerned. 
Another suggestion is that the recall of 
the names of the famous lawyers who 
flourished, in the earlier era of the State, 
prompts comparison with the practition- 
ers of to-day — whether the latter are the 
peers oi the former. With due regard to 



135 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



exceptions, it may be said fairly that the 
differentiation of the profession into var- 
ious departments has opened wide the 
door to fortune for those who enter it, 
whilf holding ajar, if not closing, that to 
fan.e — e. g. — the wealth of the corpora- 
tion attorney acquired at the loss of the 
laurels he might have won as an advo- 
cate. Be this as it may — and the reflec- 
tion is but a passing one — New York re- 
tains the memory and is proud of the 
record of her illustrious men of the elder 
time; and in that constellation of legal 
lights, Elisha Williams beams as a star of 
constant radiance. Not alone is his name 
preserved in legal annals, but it abides 
in popular ken as well. It lingers as a 
tradition on the banks of the Hudson as 
vivid as the legends of "Rip Van Winkle" 
and "Ichabod Crane." Contemporary 
opinion of him was a chorus of acclaim. 
So eminent a barrister as Thomas Addis 
Emmet said of him, "I have listened to 
the great men of Europe and America, 
but never to one who could enchant the 
attention, and captivate the judgment 
like Elisha Williams ;" and that distin- 
guished scholar, writer and gentleman, 
Gulian C. Verplanck, who had known in- 
timately the foremost men of his day, 
upon being asked, by the "Autocrat of 
the Breakfast Table," "who on the whole 
seems to you the most considerable per- 
son you ever met?" "Take it altogether," 
Mr. Verplanck answered deliberately, 
"Take it altogether, I should say that 
Elisha Williams was the most notable 
personage I have ever met with." 

"This most notable personage," the son 
of Colonel Ebenezer and grandson of the 
Rev. Ebenezer W^illiams, of Pomfret, 
Connecticut, was born in that town, on 
August 29, 177,3, and, losing his father, 
while he was yet a youth, was placed 
under the guardianship of Captain Seth 
Grosvenor, also of Pomfret, who super- 



vised his early education. He did not 
have the advantages of a college course; 
but, when he was about seventeen years 
of age, he entered the Litchfield Law 
School, then recently instituted by Tap- 
ping Reeve, which became the nursery of 
many great lawyers — among others of 
John C. Calhoun — and was very celebrat- 
ed in its day. There he principally ac- 
quired his legal education, completing it 
in the office of Ambrose Spencer in Co- 
lumbia county. Judge Reeve taught 
politics as well as law and it was under 
him, doubtless, that Williams imbibed, or 
was fortified in, Eederalist principles, 
which he upheld earnestly throughout his 
life. In June, 1793, before he was twenty 
years old, he was admitted to the bar and 
located in Stephentown and, two years 
later, married Lucia, the daughter of his 
former guardian, Grosvenor, by whom he 
had five children. In 1799, he removed to 
the city of Hudson which was thereafter 
his home. He rose rapidly in his profes- 
sion and soon assumed front rank in the 
bar at which William W. Van Ness, 
Peter Van Schaack, Jacob R. Van Rens- 
selaer and .'\mbrose Spencer were already 
established and which Martin Van Buren 
and Benjamin F. Butler were shortly to 
adorn. Before his thirtieth year, his 
reputation and practice had extended 
throughout the entire region of the Hud- 
son, from the capital to the metropolis, 
and even to adjoining States ; and in the 
various circuits he stood unrivalled in 
speech and power. At nisi prius he was 
pre-eminent. That he knew his own forte 
is seen in his modest admission to Van 
Buren, elsewhere mentioned (Van Buren 
sketch) that while he (Williams) got all 
the verdicts. Van Buren got all the judg- 
ments. He preferred appeals to the jury 
to briefs for the bench. The livelier con- 
tests evoked the fuller display of his 
ready wit, his withering sarcasm, his 

.^6 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



sparkling sallies, his empyrean flights of 
eloquence, his mobile features, his im- 
posing person and, above all, his exquisite 
sense of human nature, in the leading of 
his own and the confusion of adverse 
witnesses. 

In politics he was a Federalist, true to 
the last, to his principles and to the or- 
ganization, whose waning fortunes, how- 
ever, began coincidently with his intro- 
duction to public life; for he did not take 
preferment at its hands until 1801 when 
he was elected to the Assembly ; but he 
retained, for many years, a local con- 
stituency as faithful to him as he was to 
the party, which returned him to the 
Legislature for nine terms — 1801, '08, '13- 
"15, '17, '20, '21, '28. The same gifts of 
head and heart, so brilliant at the bar, 
exhibited themselves even more conspic- 
uously in the Assembly, which he seems 
to have chosen advisedly rather than the 
calmer deliberations of the Senate, nomi- 
nation to which he declined repeatedly. 
In oratorical prestige, he was easily facile 
princcps in the lower house and, save on 
purely partisan issues, remarkably per- 
suasive. During his tenure he was al- 
most uniformly on the minority side of 
the chamber, the only exceptions being in 
1813 when Jacob R. Van Rensselaer was 
elected speaker as a Federalist, in 1820 
when John C. Spencer was chosen by a 
fusion of Clintonians and Federalists, and 
in 1828 when Erastus Root was preferred 
by a like combination. Williams was, 
however, the champion of his party on 
the floor throughout, as he also exercised 
a controlling influence in its wider coun- 
cils, in mapping its policies and alloting 
such patronage as it was in its power to 
bestow. For the most part, he favored 
the ambitions and approved the admin- 
istrations of Governor Clinton, especially 
his attitude on internal improvements. 
He was pronounced in his endorsement 



of Comptroller Mclntyre's analysis of 
ex-Governor Tompkins's accounts with 
the State and delivered several stinging 
speeches during that passionate contro- 
versy. As a delegate to the Constitutional 
Convention of 1821, he stood with the 
band of Federalists — small in number, 
but big in intellect — which strenuously, 
but vainly, opposed the broader sufifrage, 
enlarged local government and more 
popular judiciary system that it ordain- 
ed. He was not permitted to witness the 
birth of the Whig party, but his ante- 
cedents clearly testify that he would 
have attached himself to it, had his life 
been spared. 

His retirement from the Assembly 
closed his public career; and thence his 
health began to fail, although he still ap- 
peared occasionally in the courts. His 
estate was ample. He had acquired a 
competence at the bar. He was president 
and controlled the stock of the Bank of 
Columbia. Hudson. He possessed a tract 
of land, now a considerable portion of 
the village of Waterloo, on which he spent 
some part of his time and from which he 
realized large returns. His health con- 
tinued to decline and, at last, he was 
stricken with apoplexy and died, while 
on a visit to New York, June 26, 1833, in 
the sixtieth year of his age. His private 
worth is thus set forth in the address of 
George Griffin. Esq., at the memorial 
meeting of the New York bar, July 2, 

1833: 

Nor was his heart inferior to his head. He 
was the most dutiful of sons, the kindest of hus- 
bands, the most affectionate of fathers, the best 
of neighbors and the most faithful of friends. 
He had ever "an eye for pity and a hand open 
to melting charity." He was the poor man's 
gratuitous adviser and liberal benefactor. His 
charities were more munificent than his means 
and the blessings of many a one who was ready 
to perish have ascended before him to the throne 
of God. 



137 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



HAWLEY, Gideon, 

Educator, Fonnder of School System. 

New York is entitled to primacy in the 
erection of the common school in the 
land. And it was not merely the accident 
of primordial settlement that enabled the 
Dutch to anticipate their New England 
neighbors in appreciating responsibility 
for the education of the young and in sup- 
plying means to that end. The public 
school, unknown in England, was an in- 
stitution of the Dutch republic, the most 
thoroughly educated, as well as the freest, 
nation of Europe, in the seventeenth cen- 
tury. Under the auspices of the Dutch 
West India Company, a school was start- 
ed in New Amsterdam, with Adam Koe- 
landsen as its master, which has, through 
various successions, continued and is now 
the "oldest existing school in America." 
It was maintained, at the first by the 
gratuities of the company, general tax- 
ation and ratable tuition fees. On the 
same basis, as towns were laid out in the 
province, during the Dutch regime, 
schools were established in them. Under 
English rule, the common school lan- 
guished. Whatever vitality persisted was 
due to the "Society for the Propagation of 
the Gospel in Foreign Parts" which was, 
and still is a missionary body of the 
Church of England. Between 1704 and 
1775, it employed about sixty teachers, 
the pupils being mainly from poor fami- 
lies, including quite a proportion of 
slaves. These schools were, however, 
without system or supervision ; sporadic, 
instead of permanent, and without gov- 
ernmental sanction. With independence 
and statehood. New York at once mani- 
fested a lively interest in the education of 
her youth and measures for its promotion 
were taken, resulting eventually in the 
establishment of her systems both of 
higher and elementary education. Legis- 
lation in behalf of the latter began so 



early as 1781, when lands were set apart 
for the support of the gospel and public 
schools. In 1795, at the instance of Gov- 
ernor George Clinton, "an act for the en- 
couragement of schools," providing a 
liberal fund annually for their mainte- 
nance, was passed. In iSoi, it was en- 
acted that $87,500 should be raised an- 
nually for the benefit of common schools, 
and in 1805, it was provided that 500,000 
acres of the vacant and unappropriated 
lands of the State should be sold and the 
avails thereof made a permanent school 
fund, when the interest thereon should 
amount to $50,000 each locality, partici- 
pating therein, being required to raise by 
tax a sum equal to that which it received 
from the State. This is known as the 
common school fund, still existent. As 
yet, however, there was no State school 
supervision or regulation. These came 
by the law of 1812, one of the wisest and 
most comprehensive educational statutes 
ever framed and one which plainly en- 
titles New York to her second educational 
primacy in a State system with a single 
responsible head. By it school districts, 
with trustees, commissioners and inspect- 
ors, were defined ; the interest of the 
common school fund was distributed rat- 
ably ; corresponding local taxation was 
prescribed ; teachers were required to be 
examined and licensed; and the whole 
system was placed under a State super- 
intendent — Gideon Hawley, a great edu- 
cator, with rare genius for organization, 
who is rightfully called "the father of the 
common school system." 

Gideon, the son of Gideon and Sarah 
(Ctirtiss) Plawley, was born in Hunting- 
ton. Connecticut, September 20, 1785. In 
1794. his parents removed to Saratoga 
county, where his preliminary education 
was pursued. He was graduated from 
Ll'nion College in 1809; and was immedi- 
ately appointed a tutor in that institution, 
but he resigned therefrom, in the spring 



138 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of 1810, to engage in the study of law at 
Albany, which was thereafter his resi- 
dence. He had just begun practice when 
he was elected by the Council of Appoint- 
ment — Federalist in its composition by- 
the-way — in January, 1813, to administer, 
as superintendent, the newly created sys- 
tem of common schools, and at once re- 
vealed his rare capacity for initiative and 
organization. 

The law under wliich he acted was, 
indeed, an admirable frame-work, but it 
needed the master-builder to complete 
the structure ; and he was found in Gid- 
eon Hawley. On the administrative side, 
he was singularly watchful, intelligent 
and efficient — doing everything possible 
for the betterment of the schools, in urg- 
ing trustees to closer supervision, in sys- 
tematizing the curriculum, in improving 
the character of teachers and the housing 
of pupils. But he was a maker, as well 
as an executive, of law. He was chiefly 
instrumental in remedying the defects 
and perfecting the scope of the original 
enactment. Attributable to him are the 
amendments of 1814 making it obligatory 
upon the towns to comply with the act 
and for boards of supervisors to see that 
local levies were strictly enforced; the in- 
crease in the length of the school year ; 
the regulations promoting not only the 
aggregate, but the relative, attendance; 
and notably the codification of 1819 — an 
act of severe labor upon his part and of 
vital importance to the system. Samuel 
S. Randall, later a general deputy super- 
intendent, voices the common sentiment 
of educators when he says : "To no in- 
dividual in the State are the friends of 
common school education more deeply 
indebted for the impetus given to the 
cause of elementary instruction in its 
infancy than to Gideon Hawley. From 
a state of anarchy and confusion and com- 
plete disorganization, within a period of 
less than eight years, arose a beautiful 



and stately fabric, based upon the most 
impregnable foundations, sustained by an 
enlightened public sentiment, fortified by 
the best and most enduring affections of 
the people and cherished as the safeguard 
of the State, the true palladium of its 
greatness and prosperity" — and all this at 
the pitiful wage of $300 a year. 

Superintendent Hawley served his 
eight years and was removed, February 
2:2, 1821, at the height of his usefulness, 
by the Coimcil of Appointment, that 
never, in its odious history, perpetrated 
a grosser outrage than this, which was 
follov/ed by a storm of public indignation 
and the Council itself was abolished, a few 
weeks later by the Constitutional Con- 
vention, with ceremony as scant as that 
of the kind as he shovels out the refuse 
of the stable. The superintendent had 
also been elected secretary of the Board 
of Regents of the University, holding as 
such for over twenty-seven years ; and, of 
course, from 1814 until 1821 discharging 
the functions of both offices, thus having 
the supervision of all the educational 
agencies of the State. As secretary, he 
was the Board of Regents, suggesting and 
conducting all its operations — the Re- 
gents, however wise in council and dig- 
nified in bearing, not having the time 
requisite for attention to details. With 
far less distinction than it has to-day, the 
University had something to do with 
higher and much to do with second- 
ary education and, it was, during Secre- 
tary Hawley's incumbency, that the acad- 
emies attained the renown that still 
clings to their memory. For the first 
twenty years he would not accept any 
salary, on the ground that it would be 
an inconvenient charge on the meager 
annuity at the disposal of the Regents for 
distribution among the academies. Al- 
though devoted to his office, he did some 
law business in order to eke out a living, 
but seldom appeared in court. He receiv- 



1,19 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ed the degree of LL. D. from his alma 
mater. In 1S42, he was elected by the 
Legislature a Regent of the University, 
continuing in that relation until his death, 
and with his wisdom and experience was 
a very valuable member of the Board. 
His years flowed peacefully to the end, 
amid his lettered associations, and he was 
both loved and venerated in the com- 
munity. He died in Albany, New York, 
July 16, 1870. 



ROOT, Erastus, 

Iia-wyer, Orator, Legislator. 

"There were giants in those days" — the 
period that witnessed the continuous as- 
cent of the Republican, and the decadence 
of the Federalist party, in the nation ; and 
the conflict, in the State, between the pre- 
rogatives of caste and the fuller expres- 
sion of popular sovereignity in organic 
and statutory law. Among the doughty 
warriors, in the arena of debate, there is 
no more colossal figure than that of Eras- 
tus Root, the statesman of Delaware. 
Alexander, in one of his most felicitous 
pen portraits thus pictures Root, in his 
prime : "He was a man of gigantic frame, 
scholarly and much given to letters, and, 
although somewhat uncouth in manner 
and rough in speech, his forceful logic, 
coupled with keen wit and biting sar- 
casm, made him a dreaded opponent and 
a welcomed ally. He resembled Hamil- 
ton in his independence, relying less upon 
organization and more upon the strength 
of his personality, yet shrewdly holding 
close relations with those whose careful 
management and adroit manipulation of 
the spoils kept men in line, whatever the 
policy it seemed expedient to adopt. 
Wherever he served, he was recognized 
as a master, not always consistent, but 
always earnest, eloquent and popular, 
fighting relentlessly and tirelessly and 
compelling respect, even when unsuc- 



cessful." This description of his per- 
sonality and power, is under, rather than 
over-drawn, but may well serve as the 
text for a review of his striking career. 
Supplementary thereto the unswerving 
loyalty of his immediate constituency to 
him is to be kept in mind — that fealty 
which he retained even when he renounc- 
ed his earlier political creed and accepted 
that of a party, whose basal principles he 
had, for many years, consistently antag- 
onized — the conclusive test of his com- 
manding character. Where he was best 
known, he was best liked. His name is 
even yet one to conjure with among the 
Delaware hills. 

Erastus Root was born, of stout Eng- 
lish stock, in Hebron, Connecticut, on 
March 16, 1773. His preliminary educa- 
tion was obtained in his native town, and 
he was graduated, in 1793, from Dart- 
mouth, "the little college" which Webster 
loved, then young in years and feeble in 
endowment, but whose alumni were al- 
ready known as a body of strong and 
earnest men. He was admitted to the 
bar of Tolland county, February 16, 1796, 
and migrated to Franklin, then in Otsego 
county. New York, the same year and, 
when Delaware was erected, in 1797, 
settled in Delhi, the county seat, which 
became his lifelong residence. He was 
licensed to practice as attorney, August 
18, 1806, and as counsellor in the Su- 
preme Court of New York, January 4, 
1799, and was appointed a master of 
chancery January 23, 1802. In 1806, he 
married Eliza Stockton, of Walton. As 
an "all around lawyer" he was successful 
from the beginning. His knowledge of 
his cases, his logical habit, his keen wit 
and masterful address, aided doubtless by 
his mighty presence, which marked his 
public service, made him also a leader 
at the bar and brought him preferment in 
the line of his profession ; but it is to be 
interposed that his long and conspicuous 
:40 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



legislative tenure enhanced, in the com- 
parison, his reputation as a statesman at 
the expense, if not at the eclipse of that 
as a legist. 

He was a politician from the first — an 
enthusiastic Republican, from the time of 
the organization of that party. Whence 
sprang his political faith is not clearly 
apparent — certainly not from his college 
associations or his northern Connecticut 
environment. He evidently thought for 
himself, as was ever his wont. He 
brought his convictions with him to 
Delaware and at once interested himself 
in local political concerns. His zeal in 
its behalf commended him to the elector- 
ate and he was sent to the Assembly in 
1799 at the age of twenty-five. He was 
re-elected in 1800 and 1801. Young as 
he was, he shone in debate and in his sec- 
ond term, became the floor leader by 
virtue of his force and brilliancy of 
speech, especially in his assaults upon 
the Alien and Sedition acts and his pleas 
for a broader assertion of the constitu- 
tional rights of the people which, twenty 
years later, he was notably instrumental 
in procuring. He was an ardent admirer 
of Jefferson as the head of the Republican 
party and locally attached himself to 
Aaron Burr, whose star was still in the 
ascendant, but whose unwholesome polit- 
ical methods had not yet betrayed them- 
selves to public gaze. Root, it must be 
admitted, was long in discerning them. 
It has been pithily said that he looked 
at Burr with the eyes of Theodosia. He 
even helped Burr in his ignoble canvass 
for governor in 1804 

Root's own political fortunes were un- 
disturbed by his association with Burr. 
He had won his spurs both as a politician 
and orator in the Assembly of 1799; was 
returned triumphantly to successive ses- 
sions; and, in 1803, was elected to the 
Eighth Congress. Beginning in the As- 
sembly in 1799 and ending in the State 



Senate in 1824 Root had the longest legis- 
lative service of any citizen of New York, 
to wit: Assembly, 1799, 1801, '02, '18, 
'19, '20, '21, '26, '27, '28, '30 (speaker the 
last three years) ; Constitutional Con- 
vention in 1821 ; Lieutenant-Governor, 
1823-24; Congress, 1804-05; 1810-11; 
1816-17; 1832-33. 

In all thirty years. There have been 
longer tenures than that of Root in a 
single one of these bodies, but collectively 
his name heads the list. As a Congress- 
man he cordially supported the adminis- 
trations of Jefferson and Madison, includ- 
ing the "Embargo" Act of the one and 
the war measures of the other ; and was 
friendly to the person and policies of 
Governor Tompkins ; but appears, for the 
most part, to have been at cross-swords 
with DeWitt Clinton, discouraging that 
chieftain's political aspirations and an- 
tagonizing his executive projects. It 
would have been, indeed, strange, if two 
such strong-brained, self-willed, inde- 
pendent, men should have acted in con- 
cert. Root opposed vigorously the con- 
struction of the Erie canal ; not so much, 
perhaps, that it was fostered by Clinton, 
but that he believed it not conducive, even 
if not inimical, to the weal of the sec- 
tion he represented, whose interests it 
was ever his solicitude to safe-guard. 
From it, in his younger days, he had re- 
ceived encouragement in his profession, 
and the emoluments of local office and 
later, he served it gratuitously in various 
capacities. He was postmaster at Delhi 
for twenty years from 1806. As an Assem- 
blyman, he secured its incorporation as 
a village and was one of its first trustees ; 
he was long a member of its board of 
education ; and in the Legislature was 
uniformly active in promoting the pro- 
gress of the southern tier. However, 
when Van Buren, in 1818, dextrously 
wheeled the "Bucktails" into the support 
of internal improvements throughout the 



141 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



State, Root ceased open hostility to, if he alleged corruption : his strenuous advo- 
did not, prominently further them. cacy of economy in State financial admin- 

He had a military, as well as a political istration and against the imposition of 



career. After appointments in the line, 
on an ascending scale, he was commis- 
sioned by Governor George Clinton, in 
1802, as brigade inspector of the militia 
of Delaware county, with the rank of 
major; became lieutenant-colonel, com- 
mandant of the Delaware regiment in 
1803 ; was advanced by Governor Tomp- 
kin's as brigadier-general in 181 1; and 
received his last promotion, as major- 
general of the eighth division of infantry 
from the same chief magistrate on March 
22, 1816. Particulars of his military ser- 
vice are not now at hand, but that he 
performed his duties faithfully and intel- 



bonded indebtedness, upon his proposed 
bill declaring that slavery could not exist 
in the State, being inconsistent with its 
constitution and laws, in which he sug- 
gested that people should not confine 
themselves to paper constitutions— but 
should look abroad beyond those nar- 
row confines of right and wrong, and recur 
to first principles, to the laws of nature 
and nature's God, to the foundations of 
equity and justice— a prior enunciation 
of Seward's "higher law"; his excoriation 
of William W. Van Ness, in an attempted 
impeachment for judicial misconduct ; and 



ligently is testified to in that his discharge his manly vindication of Governor Tomp- 
was accompanied with the thanks of the kins in the settlement of his accounts with 
commander-in-chief, November 17, 1824. the State. 



He was, throughout his later years, 
usually addressed as "general," according 
to the custom of his day and not wholly 
disused in this. 

But his memorable triumphs were those 
of the voice, rather than of the sword or 
the machinery of politics, at a time when 
speech was far more potent in deliberate 
assemblies than it is to-day — when the 
machine was the servant not the dictator 
of the tongue. The telling quality of 
General Root's oratory has already been 
indicated — its wealth of information, its 
incisiveness, its scoring of points — the 
nail on the head — its wit, its sarcasm, its 
lofty heights of eloquence ; but as Ham- 
mond says "it was often and, I fear. 



General Root's signal achievement, 
however, occurred in the Constitutional 
Convention, in which he was the cham- 
pion of manhood suffrage as also of thear 
tides restrictive of the appointive power. 
While it is conceded that Van Buren's 
impress upon the second constitution is 
more distinct than that of any other dele- 
gate, its democratic stamp is especially to 
be attributed to Erastus Root, combat- 
ting the conservatism of Ambrose Spen- 
cer, James Kent and Abraham Van Vech- 
ten. Root never rose to grander sum- 
mits of eloquence than he did in his in- 
vocations for an ampler measure of popu- 
lar franchises and immunities in the or- 
ganic law, although, with singular incon- 



sometimes rude in its expressions" — the sistency in his logic, he failed to urge the 



one defect of its excellence. A volume 
of his addresses v.'as published in 1824. 
His Congressional deliverances were 
keyed to notes of principle and patriot- 
ism. Without detailing his utterances 
in the Legislature, mention may be made 
of his resolute refusal to grant bank char- 
ters at partisan behest, sought through 



abolition of the property qualification for 
colored citizens at the polls or the choice 
thereat of justices of the peace. 

In 1822, General Root was elected lieu- 
tenant-governor and presided over the 
Senate for the ensuing two years with 
dignity and decorum. In 1824, the Legis- 
lature appointed him co-jointly with 



142 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Chancellor Kent and Benjamin F. Butler 
on the commission to revise the statutes 
of the State — a learned company and a 
monumental work. In 1827-28 and 1830 
he was speaker of the Assembly. At the 
Democratic convention, at Herkimer, m 
1830, he was a candidate for the guber- 
natorial nomination, but the deft hand 
of Van Buren gave it to Acting-Governor 
Throop, in compliance with the pledge 
to that efifect, when Throop was made 
lieutenant-governor on the Van Buren 
ticket, two years previously ; but Root 
was, in the same year, returned to the 
Twenty-second Congress by his ever 
faithful home constituenc}-. Thence, his 
1 elations with Van Buren, which had long 
been most intimate, became strained; and 
he also revolted from the administration 
of Jackson, whom he had never liked. In 
1833, he definitely abandoned his Demo- 
cratic associations and affiliated with the 
opposition; and, with the rising Vk'hig 
tide, was swept into the Senate, in 1839, 
the Democratic majority in that body, 
which had obtained for over a decade, 
being swept out at the same time. 

His term expiring in 1844. his last days 
were spent quietly among his books and 
the memories of his tumults and tri- 
umphs, still interested in the educational 
affairs of his community. The follow- 
ing reminiscence of him is by the eminent 
educator, David Murray, LL. D. : 

When I was a school boy at Delaware Acad- 
emy, I remember perfectly his venerable figure 
as he used to sit on the veranda of his house 
opposite the old Academy building. To us he 
seemed a most interesting and picturesque old 
man. He was fond of gathering us about him 
and, as was his wont, teasing us and telling us 
stories. He was the president of the board of 
trustees of the Academy, and as such he was a 
person of great importance and considerable 
terror to our little community. He was nearly 
always present at the examination of our 
classes and used to frighten us very much by 
the learned questions he used to put to us in 



cur Latin and other studies. It was with a kind 
of awe that it was whispered among us that in 
his youth he had published an arithmetic, which 
for a time held its place beside those of Pike and 
Daboll. 

General Root died in New York, De- 
cember 24, 1846, on his way to Wash- 
ington, where he had intended to spend 
the winter with his daughter, Mrs. Hob- 
ble. He had five children: i. Julianne, 
born 1807, married Hon. Selah R. Hob- 
ble, died 1898. 2. Charles, born 1809. 
died 1828; a midshipman in the United 
States Navy. 3. Elizabeth, born 1812, 
died 1865. 4. William, born 1813, died 
1874. 3. Augusta, born 1816, died 1838. 



L'HOMMEDIEU, Ezra, 

state and National Statesman. 

No more salutary emigration from the 
old world to the new has been witnessed 
than that of the French Huguenots, fol- 
lowing the revocation of the Edict of 
Nantes. Considerable numbers of these, 
sturdy, intelligent, honest and frugal, 
found their way to Southern New York — 
the islands of Manhattan, Staten and 
Long and Westchester county. They 
were welcomed by Dutch and English 
residents alike ; lands were allotted them 
and thereon they builded their homes, 
reared their offspring and aided material- 
ly in the evoltition of the civil and relig- 
ious liberties of the province. 

Among them was Benjamin L'Hom- 
inedieu, a native of La Rochelle, who 
came to America from Holland in 1686, 
the year after the Revocation, and in 
1690, settled in Southold, Sufifolk county, 
and married the daughter of Nathaniel 
Sylvester. They had two sons, Benja- 
min and Sylvester. The second, Benja- 
min, married Martha, the daughter of 
Ezra Bourne, of Sandwich. Massachu- 
setts, June 4, 1731 — the Puritan blend ob- 
taining as the generations descended — 



143 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and their son Ezra, the subject of this 
sketch, was born August 30, 1734. The 
environment in which he was placed as 
a boy was conducive to the development 
of a pure and vigorous manhood. South- 
old, the first town settled on Eastern 
Long Island — fiVca 1640 — was peopled 
mainly from the New Haven colony. 
They brought with them the Puritan vir- 
tues and something of the Puritan bigotry 
as well — a resolute, industrious and 
pious folk. In their lesser theocracy, the 
Bible was the rule of conduct in civil, not 
less than in church — "Presbyterian true 
blue" — affairs. And, in marked excep- 
tion, to other sections of the province 
under English rule they possessed the 
common school, parents and masters 
being required to see that their children 
and apprentices were taught to read the 
Scriptures and other good and profitable 
books in the English tongue, with penal- 
ties prescribed for non-compliance. 

There are no authentic notes of Ezra's 
preliminary education. Doubtless, some- 
thing of it was acquired from his mother 
and the town school, and something from 
the tutorage of the town minister ; but he 
was graduated creditably from Yale Col- 
lege in 1754 and was later admitted to 
the bar of New York. He does not seem 
to have practiced his profession regu- 
larly, being of competent estate, en- 
grossed in private, church and town busi- 
ness. He is historically described, when 
he had scarcely attained his majority, as 
the most prominent member of the 
church and the most eminent citizen of 
the town. He married Charity, daugh- 
ter of Nicoll Floyd, December 24, 1756. 
She died in 1785. Later, he married 
Catharine, daughter of Nicoll Hasen. For 
the ensuing twenty years, he held no pub- 
lic position, certain local trusts possibly 
excepted ; but he made no concealment 
of his political principles which were de- 
cidedly of the Whig cast, sympathetic 



with all efforts in resistance to the ex- 
actions of the crown and to the arbitrary 
acts of parliament. When the rupture 
with "the mother country" culminated in 
revolution he accepted office, as a duty, 
rather than for the gratification of per- 
sonal ambition and, for the remainder of 
his life, was continuously in the public 
service, as a legislator. When party divi- 
sions became pronounced, he allied him- 
self with the Federalists, prominent and 
persuasive in their councils and earnest 
and effective in the making of the nation 
and the conserving of the State. 

He entered public life as a member of 
the first Provincial Congress, which as- 
sembled May 22, 1775, a month after the 
guns of Lexington had sounded the alarm 
of war. He remained throughout the four 
congresses, the fourth resolving itself 
into the convention that framed the first 
State constitution in 1777. He was an 
Assemblyman from Suffolk during its 
first six sessions — 1778-83 ; a Senator 
from the southern district for nineteen 
terms, 1784-1803; one of the Council of 
Appointment in 1784 and 1799; and a 
delegate to four Continental Congresses. 
1779-82 — the total, thirty-three years, 
being the longest legislative service that 
any citizen of New York has had, count- 
ing of course one year twice, when there 
has been dual service. He was a dele- 
gate to the convention of 1801, amenda- 
tory and explicative of the State consti- 
tution, and was a regent of the univer- 
sity from 1787 until his death in 181 1. 

This lengthed service is, perhaps, the 
most convincing evidence of its worth, 
embracing, as it does, the constant trust 
of a highly intelligent constituency, the 
signal respect of his associates in office 
and an undeviating fealty to the princi- 
ples he professed. It was characterized 
by conscientiousness of purpose, wisdom 
in counsel and integrity of conduct, if not 
brilliancy of speech. It is impossible, at 



144 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



this distance and from meager reports, to 
analyze exactly the quality of his utter- 
ance. There is no record of ornate ora- 
tory or bursts of eloquence, but enough 
remains from which to conclude that it 
was informed with knowledge, direct in 
statement and authoritative in delivery. 
It was sober in judgment, if it lacked 
meteoric display. His most enduring 
monument is the University of the State 
of New York, in the erection of which he 
was, as a legislator, largely instrumental 
and, in its administration, as a regent, su- 
premely efficient. There has been con- 
siderable discussion among educators as 
to whom the being of the university is 
chiefly due — to Hamilton or L'Homme- 
dieu — but in the weighing of merits — the 
conclusive estimate — the scales decline 
to the latter's side. When the board was 
created, L'Hommedieu was in the Legis- 
lature; Hamilton was not. L'Homme- 
dieu was a member of the first governing 
body, under the act of May, 1784. Ham- 
ilton came into it as an additional regent 
by the later act in November of the same 
year; and when, in 1787, the board was 
reconstructed L'Hommedieu was named 
again as a regent and Hamilton was not ; 
so that the incumbency of the one was 
for a period of twenty-seven years and 
that of the latter for but three. This is 
not recounted to disparage Hamilton's 
efforts in behalf of higher education ; for 
he did much m that regard and in recog- 
nition thereof a principal college of the 
State bears his name ; but the extended 
service, coupled with the enlightened 
labors of L'Hommedieu, seem to entitle 
him to the primacy. Certainly the State 
is under deep obligations to him for the 
founding of that institution, which for 
one hundred and thirty years has had the 
supervision of higher and the control of 
secondary education in the common- 
wealth and in whose deliberations some 
N Y-Voi i-io 145 



of its most honored citizens have been 
engaged. 

It has been impossible to do more than 
glance at Ezra L'Hommedieu's career, 
but sufficient has been seen to show that 
among early legislators none is entitled 
to more of precedence in public esteem as 
there has been none more upright in bear- 
ing nor of patriotism more devoted than 
he. He died, profoundly lamented, in 
Southold, September 28, 181 1, at the age 
of seventy-seven. 



SCOTT, John Morin, 

Patriot, State Builder. 

Dying at the age of thirty-four, the life 
of John Morin Scott, a man of fortune, a 
zealous patriot and eminent lawyer, is 
almost wholly associated with the Revo- 
lutionary period; but he lived long 
enough to see the war happily concluded 
and to participate in the making and ad- 
ministration of the State. He was of dis- 
tinguished ancestry, the great-great- 
grandson of Sir John Scott, baronet, of 
Ancrum, Scotland. His grandfather, 
John Scott, came to the province of New 
York about 1702, was prosperous, as was 
the father of John Morin, from whom 
the latter inherited a fair estate. Pie was 
born in the City of New York, ever his 
residence, in 1750. He was educated at 
Yale College, was admitted to the bar of 
this State, and practiced honorably and 
successfully. He was, according to the 
Tory historian Jones, one of three lead- 
ing lawyers — William Smith, Jr., and 
William Livingston being the others — 
who "had been so unfortunate as to be 
educated at Yale, a college remarkable 
for its persecuting spirit, its republican 
principles, its intolerance in religion, and 
its utter aversion to bishops and all 
earthly kings;" and having been further 
inclined along these lines by all studying 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



together in the office of William Smith 
they "formed themselves into a triumvi- 
rate and determined, if possible, to pull 
down church and State, to raise their own 
government and religion upon its ruins 
or to throw the whole province into an- 
archy and confusion." There were, in- 
deed, a number of other bright young 
lawyers of the city, of earnest patriotism 
and Whig principles, then, or shortly 
afterward, to become identified with the 
cause of provincial freedom, but by the 
testimony of the enemy — which is often 
the best testimony — Scott was in the van- 
guard of its defenders, radically repub- 
lican in sentiment and deed. 

So soon as his age would permit, he 
joined the Sons of Liberty, that volun- 
teer band of citizens, which was organ- 
ized in 1765 to oppose the execution of 
the Stamp Act and made its first demon- 
stration of hostility to the crown by burn- 
ing in efhgy the governor. Sir Henry 
Moore ; and thereafter the association, 
composed principally of young men, was 
the most active and the most violent of 
any that made manifest its patriotic senti- 
ment. In its proceedings, none was more 
prominent than Scott, Alexander Mc- 
Dougall, another Scotchman, perhaps, ex- 
cepted. Its letter of May 14, 1774, led the 
way to the creation of the Continental 
Congress ; and in its preparation Scott 
probably had a hand, as he was an ac- 
complished writer, contributing fre- 
quently articles and pamphlets to the 
press on current political issues. He was 
a member of the committee of one hun- 
dred — really, a provisional government, 
the Tory Assembly having expired — in- 
cluding in its list such stout advocates 
of the rights of the province as John Jay, 
James Duane, John Lamb, Francis Lewis, 
Philip I-ivingston, Alexander McDougall, 
Isaac Roosevelt, Peter Van Schaack, 
Richard Yates and others almost equally 
well known. It forwarded to the Lord 



Mayor and Corporation of London the 
address of May 5, 1775, composed mainly 
by Jay, in which occurs the pregnant dec- 
laration that "all the horrors of civil war 
will never compel America to submit to 
taxation by authority of parliament." 
The committee also issued circulars to 
the various counties inviting them to 
elect delegates to a Provincial Congress 
to meet in New York, May 22, "to de- 
liberate upon and, from time to time, to 
direct such measures as may be expedient 
for our common safety." To this call the 
thirteen counties promptly responded. 
Scott was an influential member of the 
committee and was also delegated to all 
four of the Provincial Congresses from 
the county of New York. While still in 
the Provincial Congress, he was commis- 
sioned a brigadier-general, serving credit- 
ably as such until March, 1777, and par- 
ticipating in the battle of Long Island. 

The Fourth Provincial Congress re- 
solved itself into the Convention of Rep- 
resentatives of the State of New York 
and March 12, 1777, framed the first Con- 
stitution of the Commonwealth {z'ide 
sketch of Jay). This Constitution was 
almost wholly written by Jay, but 
through the efiforts of John Morin Scott, 
leading a majority of the convention, 
much of democratic inspiration abode in 
the instrument. "The spirit," says Alex- 
ander, "that nerved a handful of men to 
embargo vessels and seize munitions of 
war covered by British guns never 
wanted courage and this historic band 
prepared to resist a conservatism that 
seemed disposed simply to change the 
names of their masters." "It is prob- 
able that the convention was ultra-demo- 
cratic," says William Jay in the biog- 
raphy of his father, "for I have heard him 
observe that another turn of the winch 
would have cracked the cord." That the 
convention had the utmost confidence in 
Scott, as shown in the fact that he was 



146 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



appointed a member of the Council of 
Safety which constituted the government, 
provisional pending the meeting of the 
Legislature and the inauguration of the 
governor. By it, he was made secretary 
of state, as which he was subsequently 
confirmed by Governor Clinton. He was 
also a delegate to the Continental Con- 
gress from September 12, 1780, until Feb- 
ruary 3, 1784; and was elected from the 
southern district to the first Senate and 
continued therein five sessions (1777-82) 
and vi'as a member of the first Council of 
Appointments, in both capacities cor- 
dially supporting the administration of 
Governor Clinton. 

Had John Morin Scott not been cut 
down in the flower of his youth and yet in 
the refulgence of his faculties, the party 
with which he would have affiliated is 
easily surmised. He would have dedi- 
cated his powers to the interests of the 
Republican organization ; and his princi- 
ples had already been clearly defined in 
accord with its creed as subsequently 
enunciated. As it is, he left a noble rec- 
ord for heroic service to popular rights, 
in field and forum, sustained by sterling 
integrity and shining talents. He died 
deeply lamented in New York. Septem- 
ber 4, 1784. 



LIVINGSTON, Brockholst, LL. D., 

Soldier, I.egislator, Jurist. 

Of the talents — to say nothing of the 
fortunes — of the Livingston family, 
Brockholst had a goodly share, revealed 
in his career as soldier, legislator and 
jurist. He was the son of William Liv- 
ingston, LL. D., a Yale graduate, a law- 
yer of distinction, a delegate to the first 
Continental Congress, governor of New 
Jersey, during the Revolution, indefatiga- 
ble in his efTorts to maintain the effi- 
ciency of the militia of his State and a 
delegate to the convention that framed 
the Federal Constitution. 



Henry Brockholst Livingston, as he 
was christened, the first Christian name 
being dropped subsequently, was born in 
New York City, November 26, 1757. He 
was graduated from Princeton College 
in 1774, before he was seventeen years 
old. He was a youth of culture and re- 
finement, contemplating the profession of 
the law, when the war broke out. With 
patriotic ardor, he entered the army, in 
1776, as aide-de-camp on the staff of Gen- 
eral Schuyler and was with him in his 
campaign on the northern frontier. He 
was afterward attached to the suite of 
General Arnold and was present at the 
surrender of Burgoyne, and then rejoin- 
ing Schuyler's command, with the rank 
of lieutenant-colonel. From 1779 until 
1782, he was private secretary to John 
Jay, who had married his sister Sarah, 
at the embassy in Madrid. On his return 
to America, his vessel was taken by the 
British and, for a time, he was a prisoner 
of war in New York. In 1783 he was ad- 
mitted to the bar, having studied in the 
office of Peter W. Yates, a prominent 
lawyer in Albany, who had, for several 
terms, been a delegate to the Continental 
Congress. Livingston opened an office 
in New York, thereafter his residence, 
where he soon obtained a lucrative prac- 
tice, as he could not well help doing with 
his own aptitude and his family connec- 
tions. He is then described as "one of 
the most accomplished scholars, able ad- 
vocates and fiuent speakers of his time 
in the city, but violent in his political 
feelings and conduct." 

He was, indeed, an intense partisan in 
his early manhood. His official debut in 
politics was as a Federalist member of 
Assembly in 1789, the delegation from 
New York county being of that stripe, 
while a slight Republican majority ob- 
tained in the body, with John Lansing, 
Jr., as Speaker. Two years later, however, 
Livingston was in the Republican camp, 



147 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



following, with the larger part of the 
family, the lead of his cousin. Chancellor 
Robert R. Livingston. He was re-elected 
to the Assembly in 1801 and again in 
1802, both sessions being Republican in 
their majority with Samuel Osgood 
speaker of the one and Thomas Storm of 
the other. In the interregnum he had 
been, though not in official place, quite 
actively engaged in politics, antagonizing 
the measures of the Adams administra- 
tion, favoring the incoming of Jefferson 
and, notwithstanding the family tie, op- 
posing Jay as a candidate for governor, 
being especially severe, as a contributor 
to the press, under the pseudonym of 
"Decius," in his strictures upon the treaty 
which Jay negotiated with Great Britain. 
In the Assembly, under Republican aus- 
pices, he took a leading part, known alike 
for the zeal he manifested in behalf of 
the principles of his party and the force 
and felicity of his speech. 

It was at this period that the Living- 
stons were at the height of their power 
and patronage. In 1800 General John 
Armstrong, a brother-in-law of the Chan- 
cellor, was elected United States Senator ; 
a year later the Chancellor himself was 
commissioned as minister plenipotentiary 
to France ; and, in 1802, at the hands of 
the Council of Appointment, Edward 
Livingston was made Mayor of New 
York ; Thomas Tillotson, another brother- 
in-law, Secretary of State ; Morgan Lewis, 
still another brother-in-law. Chief Justice 
of the Supreme Court in 1801 ; and Brock- 
hoist Livingston and Smith Thompson, 
whose wife was a Livingston, Associate 
Judges of the same court, January 8, 
1802. But whatever of family pride or 
political influence may have inhered in 
his elevation to the bench, no reflections 
were cast upon the character or capac- 
ity of Brockholst Livingston ; and his 
judicial conduct fully justified the trust 
reposed in him and relieved him from 



even the insinuation that his political sen- 
timents would injuriously affect his offi- 
cial decisions. After filling acceptably 
his State judgeship, he was, November 
10, 1806, exalted by President Jefferson 
as an Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court of the United States, and remained 
such for the remaining span of his life, 
his opinions being distinguished for their 
learning, lucidity and sincerity. 

Throughout his judicial career he kept 
in touch with the interests of his native 
city and particularly with his scholarly 
inclination with its educational aft'airs. 
He served as vice-president of the New 
York Historical Society, was a trustee of 
the Society Library and one of the orig- 
inal promoters of the New York City 
public school system. He died in Wash- 
ington, March 19, 1823, at the age of fifty- 
five years. 



SPENCER, John C, 

Jurist, Legislator, Statesman. 

If psychologists vex themselves over 
the problem of the transmission of genius, 
of which, indeed, extremely few cases are 
of record, there can be no question as to 
the heredity of talent, sometimes traced 
to a remote ancestor, but more often pass- 
ing directly from one generation to the 
next. Of the latter, there is no more 
conspicuous illustration — in New York 
families, at least — than that of the Spen- 
cer succession — the reincarnation, so to 
speak, of Ambrose Spencer, in the person 
of his son, John C. They were remark- 
ably akin in mental gifts, character, dis- 
position and careers. Both were impres- 
sive in appearance, acute in perception, 
strong in will, clear and logical in ex- 
pression, persuasive in address. Both 
were superb lawyers — the one excelling 
on the bench and the other with the brief; 
but each could, with opportunity offered, 
have assumed the other's role, with equal 



148 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



credit by the exchange. Both, with 
similar political sentiments, were born 
political fighters, neither giving nor ask- 
ing quarter, inciting enmity, as well as 
compelling fealty — the elder superior, 
perhaps, to the younger as a tactician. 
Both were eminent as statesmen ; each, 
however, failing to realize a common am- 
bition — the attainment of the most ex- 
alted legislative station ; but the one 
wore the ermine of the chief justice of 
the commonwealth and the other sat in 
the cabinet of the republic. In a closer 
analj-sis of resemblances, further points 
might be specified, but sufficient has been 
cited to show that the son duplicated and 
was worthy of the sire. 

John Canfield Spencer was born in the 
city of Hudson, where his father was then 
residing, January 8, 1788. He was gradu- 
ated in 1806 from Union College, then in 
its opening years, but stimulated by the 
zeal of its great executive, Eliphalet Nott, 
who assumed charge in 1804. He bearar. 
the study of the law in Albany and was 
admitted to the bar at Canandaigua in 
1809. While still a student, he acted as 
private secretary to Governor Tompkins 
and was made the messenger of the elec- 
toral college of New York to carry its 
vote to Washington. Settling in Canan- 
daigua he commenced practice and was 
appointed master in chancery in 181 1, 
and postmaster of the village in 1814. 
His legal capacity met instant recog- 
nition at the local bar, which such ac- 
complished practitioners as Nathaniel W. 
Howell, Peter B. Porter, Dudley Mar- 
vin and John Greig already adorned. He 
also interested himself actively in politics, 
enrolling himself as a Republican and ad- 
vancing the fortunes and favoring the 
policies of Governor Tompkins, from 
whom, later, both himself and his father 
became estranged. In due reward for 
his political exertions and professional 
repute, he was, on February 13, 1815, 



made prosecuting attorney, by the coun- 
cil of appointment, on the nomination of 
the governor, of the tenth district, com- 
posed of the five western counties of the 
State ; and, under the division act, by 
county lines, of 1818, he was retained as 
district attorney of Ontario, retiring 
March 31, 1831. He was ever vigilant 
and efficient in this office, securing many 
convictions and his dismissal, on purely 
political considerations, was deeply re- 
sented by the community. In civil suits 
he was also very successful, and as 
pamphleteer and publicist was much es- 
teemed, his presentation of American 
rights and British aggressions, pending 
the progress of the war being notably 
well received. His local popularity, re- 
sulted in an election as representative in 
the Fifteenth Congress, wherein he found 
James Talmadge, Jr., James W. Wilkin, 
John W. Taylor, Henry R. Storrs and 
other strong men as his colleagues in the 
New York delegation. Still a young man 
and in his first and only term, he was 
placed on the important committee, 
charged with the examination into the 
afTairs of the United States bank and 
drew up its report. He also won enviable 
distinction as a debater, lucid, terse and 
vigorous in his diction; and it is not ex- 
travagant to say that he assumed rank 
rightfully among the leaders of the 
House. A competent critic observes that 
intellectually he took the place of Cal- 
houn, who had temporarily left Congress 
to become Monroe's Secretary of War, 
"both delighting in establishing, by the 
subtlest train of philosophical reasoning, 
the delicate lines that exposed sophistry 
and error and making clear the disputed 
point in law or legislation." 

Upon his retirement from Congress, 
Spencer was elected, as a Clintonian. to 
the Assembly of 1820 and re-elected to 
that of 1821. It is pertinent to empha- 
size the fact that the Assembly at this 



149 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



period attracted to itself the brightest 
talent of the State and that even the 
weightiest minds did not deem it beneath 
their dignity to supplement their experi- 
ence in superior legislative bodies by test- 
ing their caliber in the more democratic 
and tumultuous arena. Without in- 
dulging in comparison with the Assem- 
bly membership of to-day, mention may 
be made of the names of a few of those 
who were on the rolls of either or both of 
the sessions indicated, viz.: Elisha Wil- 
liams, Erastus Root, Clarkson Crolius, 
John T. Irving, Peter Sharpe, Michael 
Ulshoefifer, Jonas Earll, Jr., Henry Sey- 
mour, John A. King, John Tracy, Samuel 
L. Hopkins, Gulian C. Verplanck and 
Myron Holley. Spencer, although he was 
Speaker, was often on his feet in the 
Assembly of 1820, the burning discussion 
therein being that relative to the accounts 
of ex-Governor Tompkins with the State, 
which Archibald Mclntyre, one of the 
most accurate and conscientious comp- 
trollers the State has had, investigated, 
to his own satisfaction, and determined 
a deficit of considerable amount for which 
Tompkins was responsible. Spencer, re- 
leased from any obligations to Tompkins, 
severely arraigned, while Root and others 
valiantly defended, him. Probably Spen- 
cer never exhibited his power of denun- 
ciation more strikingly than in his at- 
tacks upon Tompkins, who, in the rem- 
nant of his days and usefulness, was 
awarded a large sum as his due ; but the 
debate remains ever memorable. 

Tn the unique senatorial contest of 1819, 
prolonged into 1820, referred to elsewhere 
(vide sketches of King and Van Buren), 
Spencer's name was prominently in- 
volved. It is clear that he aspired legiti- 
mately to and was amply equipped for 
the place ; but his party was split by fac- 
tion, each element preferring its own de- 
feat to the success of its rival. Spencer 
was the favorite of the Clintonians, who 



were in a plurality on joint ballot. The 
Bucktails, then at Van Buren's beck — as 
clay in the potter's hands — were next in 
numbers supporting Samuel Young, the 
brilliant orator and redoubtable partisan; 
while the Federalists, yet respectable 
numerically, hoped that, with a balance 
of power, they might return Rufus King. 
The strife between the factions was sharp 
and relentless in the extreme. The test 
vote, February 2, 1819. was as follows: 
Spencer, 64; Young, 57; King, 34; and, 
an adjournment being effected, the elec- 
tion was remanded to the succeeding 
legislature by which, through the finesse 
of Van Buren, King was unanimously re- 
turned — the Bucktails voting for him be- 
cause they were ordered to; the Clin- 
tonians because they thought they might 
thereby benefit their chief; and the Fed- 
eralists as a matter of course; and all, 
more or less, because of King's high char- 
acter and his generous support of the 
national government during the war. The 
result left a sting in Spencer's breast and 
he could not forget that he owed the 
speakership to a fusion of Clintonians 
and Federalists. From this time on he 
gradually, but surely, became alienated 
from the the Republican (Democratic) 
party, controlled as it was, and finally 
affiliated with the opposition. So long as 
Clinton lived, he remained faithful to 
him, furthering his election both in 1824 
and 1826. Spencer was himself elected 
to the State Senate in 1824, for a term of 
four years, by a very large majority ; was 
unquestionably, for the first two, the 
leader of the Clintonian majority in the 
Senate and, becoming more and more 
pronounced in his opposition to the Jack- 
son-Van Buren regime as time went on. 
In 1827 he was appointed one of the re- 
visers of the State statutes, upon which 
he published a series of expositions of 
their scope. 

During his brief incumbency as gov- 

50 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ernor, in 1829, Van Buren selected him 
as special counsel in the prosecution of 
those concerned in the disappearance of 
William Morgan, the betrayer of the 
ritual of Free Masonry. This also is re- 
lated as a fine specimen of the peculiar 
tact of Van Buren in putting an enemy 
"in the hole." If the prosecution, it was 
said, should be beaten, this would be im- 
puted, by the Anti-Masons, to the lack 
of energy, or treachery, of the deputed 
official ; if he won, he would be under 
the ban of the Masons, many of whom re- 
garded the cases as persecutions, rather 
than justifiable prosecution — a target to 
be shot at in either event. Be this rather 
uncharitable view of Van Buren's mo- 
tives as it may, Spencer, absolutely hon- 
est, regardless of consequences to him- 
self, with signal legal skill fulfilled the 
trust reposed in him, convicting nearly 
all of the accused persons. This, among 
other influences, brought him into touch 
with the Anti-Masons, then dominant in 
Western New York ; and, in 1832, he 
headed, with Chancellor Kent, the com- 
bined electoral Anti-Masonic-National 
Republican ticket. He had already again 
appeared in the Assembly in 1831 and 
was to be in that of 1833, from Ontario, 
as an Anti-Mason, in each year defeated 
for the speakership by an overwhelming 
Democratic majority. 

Upon the organization of the W'hig 
party, in 1834, Spencer united with it, 
cordially favoring the nomination of Sew- 
ard for governor, in that year, when he 
was defeated, and in 1838, when he was 
elected. Meanwhile Spencer held no pub- 
lic position, absorbed in his profession, 
his comprehensive knowledge of consti- 
tutional questions causing his advice to 
be constantly sought on these. He ranked 
among the great expounders of the law, 
nationally as well as State-wise. Gov- 
ernor Seward consulted him constantly 
upon State policies, and few administra- 



tions have had more delicate and compli- 
cated issues to deal with than had Sew- 
ard's. In 1839 Spencer was, on joint bal- 
lot of the legislature, appointed Secretary 
of State, for the term of three years. 
Than he, there has been no more indus- 
trious and enlightened incumbent of that 
office — now one mainly of routine, but, 
under the constitution of 1821, of exten- 
sive jurisdiction, including the super- 
vision of the common school system. 
Deeply interested in the cause of popu- 
lar instruction, he did much to augment 
its resources, clarify its methods and im- 
prove the quality of its teaching force 
and to herald the establishment of the 
free school throughout the length and 
breadth of the commonwealth, as accom- 
plished by Victor M. Rice, in 1867. The 
annual reports and recommendations of 
Superintendent Spencer are held in high 
esteem by educators generally as espe- 
cially luminous and inspiring. On Feb- 
ruary 8, 1840, he was chosen a regent of 
the university, retiring May 4, 1844, thus 
being brought into close association with 
the agencies of higher education and in- 
telligently supervising its development. 
In 1838 he edited the first English edi- 
tion of De Tocqueville's "Democracy in 
America." 

When President Tyler reorganized his 
cabinet in September, 1841, Spencer en- 
tered it as Secretary of War and was 
transferred to the headship of the Treas- 
ury in October, 1843, resigning therefrom 
early in 184.4., on account of his inability 
to approve the President's policy of the 
annexation of Texas. His cabinet serv- 
ice was, in every official respect, able and 
excellent; but his continuance therein, 
after the rupture of the President with 
the ruling element of the Whig party dis- 
countenanced him with it and he re- 
ceived no further honors at its hands ; 
nor does he seem to have desired any. 
It is to be said for him, however, that he 



151 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



staid in the cabinet, so long as he did, in 
the vain hope of winning Tyler back to 
the Whig party; and it is to be added 
that later his old friends rallied around 
him in sympathy with the tragedy in his 
family, alluded to at the conclusion of 
this sketch ; much as did Seward's friends 
leturn to him, after his trip around the 
world. In 1845 Spencer removed from 
Canandaigua to New York, where he 
practiced his profession until his death, 
which occurred at Albany, May 18, 1S55. 
Surviving him were his wife, a most esti- 
mable and accomplished woman, the 
daughter of James Scott Smith, of New 
York, whom he had married shortly after 
his admission to the bar, and three chil- 
dren. The supreme sorrow of his life 
was the loss of his son Philip, a bright 
but erratic youth, a midshipman in the 
navy, unjustly condemned to death for 
alleged mutiny — a famous case in naval 
annals. 



SANFORD, Nathan, 

Politician, Legislator, Jurist. 

Nathan Sanford, adept as a politician, 
useful as a legislator and competent as a 
jurist, was conspicuous in State and 
national affairs for thirty years, attract- 
ing friends swift to do him honor; and 
left a record, if not brilliant in achieve- 
ment, of duty faithfully performed, 
worthy of their favor. 

He was born in Bridgehampton, Suf- 
folk county, November 5, 1777; and, after 
attending Yale College and studying law, 
was admitted to practice in New York 
City. He was successful as a young law- 
yer, but soon entered upon a political 
career, which demanded the major part 
of his energies, although, at intervals, he 
was called to responsible positions in' the 
line of his profession. He was a Repub- 
lican from start to finish — from the time 
when coincident with the attainment of 



his majority (1798) his party was expect- 
ant of wresting the national government 
from Federalist control until he doffed his 
senatorial robe. His first preferment 
came when he was appointed United 
States District Attorney for New York, 
July 25, 1803, succeeding Edward Liv- 
ingston. He held until March 21, 1815 
— twelve years — his functions being, for 
a time at least, extremely arduous and 
responsible, with numerous cases grow- 
ing out of the international difficulties 
with England and France. President 
Jefferson also made him a Commissioner 
in Bankruptcy while he was still District 
Attorney; and in 1809 and 181 1 he was 
sent to the Assembly, being Speaker in 
the last session, dual and even triple 
office-holding being the rule, rather than 
the exception in the State prior to the 
Constitution of 1821. In 1812 he took his 
seat, from the southern district, in the 
State Senate, for the term of four years. 
In the conflicts within the party, San- 
ford is to be classed as an Anti-Clintonian 
throughout. In the spring election of 
1800, he followed the lead of Aaron Burr, 
when that dextrous politician, then at the 
zenith of his power, combined the various 
factions in the famous victory for his 
party in the State, preceding the more re- 
nowned triumph in the nation at the No- 
vember polls. Actively engaged in these 
campaigns, he received his reward in the 
appointment as district attorney already 
mentioned. Identifying himself locally 
with the "Martling men" (Tammany 
Hall) and, obtaining a large and devoted 
following therein, he was by them re- 
turned to the Assembly of 1809, in which 
he distinguished himself by a vigorous 
support of Jefferson's administration, and 
especially by his earnest defense of the 
Embargo Act, admitting its seriousness, 
but emphasizing its necessity. Favoring 
the nomination of Madison for President 
in t8o8, as against the claims of Vice- 



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HON. NATHAN SANFORD 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



President Clinton, he upheld Madison's 
policies, including those for the resolute 
prosecution of the war, and the regime of 
Tompkins as well. In the Assembly of 
1811, the speakership, of which he was 
constrained to resign in February, owing 
to infirm health, he gave evidence of his 
probity by his consistent opposition to 
the chartering of certain banks, becoming 
even more pronounced against them, in 
the ensuing year, when he succeeded De- 
Witt Clinton in the Senate ; and this, not 
because they were in themselves unsound 
or vicious, but because of the bribery and 
corruption that tainted them. He also 
frankly declared his hostility to Clinton's 
presidential aspirations, partly out of 
friendship for Madison and partly on the 
ground, pithily expressed by General 
Root, that "as a Republican candidate. 
Mr. Clinton could not, and, as the Fed- 
eralist candidate, he ought not to suc- 
ceed." Sanford was one of a number of 
Republican Senators who refused to at- 
tend the legislative caucus that nomi- 
nated Clinton. 

He was elected United States Senator, 
February 7, 181 5, for the full term of six 
years, principally at the instance of 
Tompkins and Van Buren. In the Senate 
he held honorable, if not commanding, 
place. He was a ready talker, devoted 
to the State he represented and the inter- 
ests of the party with which he was affili- 
ated. He was a staunch supporter of 
Monroe's administration, which by his re- 
election established the "Era of Good 
Feeling," although, in the State, the bat- 
tle between the factions was still unre- 
lenting, Clinton having been chosen gov- 
ernor in 1817 and again in 1820, in the 
latter year, over ex-Governor Tompkins ; 
but, in the same year, the "Bucktails," as 
the anti-Clintonian element was then 
known, swept the legislature and San- 
ford, under an amicable arrangement, 
gave place to Van Buren in the Federal 



Senate. He became, however, a member 
of the Constitutional Convention of 1821, 
acting with Van Buren, rather than with 
the ultra radicals, in informing the con- 
stitution with a larger measure of demo- 
cratic principle. He was appointed Chan- 
cellor, August 1, 1833, to succeed Kent, 
disabled by the sixty-year limitation of 
tenure, and presided over the court until 
January 24, 1826, performing his duties 
faithfully and acceptably. In the elec- 
toral colleges of 1824, he received thirty 
votes for Vice-President, seven from his 
own State. Meanwhile, a reconciliation 
had been effected between Van Buren 
and Clinton and in reciprocal good will 
the "Bucktails" Senators confirmed Clin- 
ton's nomination of Samuel Jones, a rela- 
tive of the Governor's wife, as Chancellor 
to succeed Sanford, the latter being again 
returned to the United States Senate, 
January 14, 1826, occupying his seat 
therein until March 4, 1831, a faithful ad- 
herent of Jackson, when he retired from 
public life and resumed the practice of his 
profession. He died in Flushing, Octo- 
ber 17, 1838, at the age of sixty-one years. 



ROMAYNE, Nicholas, 

Medical Practitioner and Instmctor, 

Dr. Nicholas Romayne was admittedly 
the foremost one of all in effecting the 
organization of the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons in New York City, now the 
Medical Department of Columbia Uni- 
versity. He was a man of much force of 
character, great determination, restless 
enterprise, and a financier of no mean 
ability. 

He was born of old Holland stock in 
Hackensack, New Jersey, in 1756; he 
studied medicine under the preceptorship 
of Dr. Peter Wilson, and, after complet- 
ing the laid-down course of medical in- 
struction in Edinburgh, Scotland, spent 
two years in Paris and a brief period in 



153 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Leyden, in quest of further professional 
knowledge. Returning to America shortly 
after the British evacuation, he became 
Professor of Medicine and Forensic Medi- 
cine in Queen's (now Rutgers) College, 
at New Brunswick, New Jersey. He sub- 
sequently entered upon practice in New 
York City, and became Professor of the 
Practice of Physic, Anatomy and Chem- 
istry in Columbia College when it was 
reorganized in 17S4, and he also gave 
private lectures in anatomy. He was 
among the founders of the Medical So- 
ciety of the County of New York in 1806, 
of which he was the first president, and 
from 1806 to 181 o he was also president 
of the State Medical Society. He was 
highly instrumental in dignifying his pro- 
fession by formulating and procuring the 
enactment of various State and local laws 
for the aid and encouragement of instruc- 
tional and charitable institutions, and of 
such repressive measures as would pro- 
tect the public against charlatans and 
pretenders. 

Dr. Romayne was about fifty years of 
age when he aided in the founding of the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons. He 
secured its charter, and upon his personal 
credit procured funds for providing the 
first college building and its equipment. 
He was the first president of the institu- 
tion, and for three years he added to his 
executive duties those of lecturer on the 
Institutes of Medicine, and at various 
times he gave instruction in nearly all 
other departments. After retiring from 
the college he gave little attention to his 
profession. He died of apoplexy in New 
York City, July 20, 1817, and Dr. Samuel 
L. Mitchill (q. V.) paid a fervent tribute 
to his character and worth in the opening 
number of the "New York Medical Re- 
pository :" 

Dr. Rom.iyne was a perfect scholar in litera- 
ture, and of a general scientific erudition, a man 
of a strong mind, of sober and industrious 



habits, raised by e.xperience and superior judg- 
ment to the first and undisputed rank of profes- 
sional eminence in this city. He could at once 
and alone teach a respectable number of students 
of medicine, and daily deliver lectures on all the 
branches of that science. A succeeding genera- 
tion of our brothers have witnessed and grate- 
fully remember his zeal, exertions and influence, 
in asserting the importance and privileges of the 
faculty, by more statute laws in the State than it 
has yet obtained in any other in the Union. 

If, in the providential order of things, much is 
expected from those who are blessed with natural 
talents, rare gifts of the mind and fortunate 
opportunities, it must be granted, on the other 
hand, that the dangers of errors, passions and 
foibles are proportionately increased. Yet we 
may say, as a small tribute of respect to the 
memory of Nicholas Romayne, that few men 
have passed through all the stages of rank, 
honor, wealth and adversity, with fewer blem- 
ishes on a philanthropic and decorous life. 



MACNEVEN, William James, M. D., 

Man of Varied Accomplisliiueiits. 

William James Macneven was born at 
Ballynahowne, County Galway, Ireland, 
March 21, 1763. The family name in its 
original form appears as Mac Nevin. His 
ancestors originally held extensive estates 
in the North of Ireland, but were deprived 
of them by Cromwell, who compelled 
them to remove to the wilds of Con- 
naught. Several of the family attained 
distinction, notably an uncle of Dr. Mac- 
neven, who made a translation from the 
German on "The Use and Construction 
of the Mine Auger," and Baron William 
O'Kelly Mac Nevin, who was court phy- 
sician to Empress Maria Teresa of Aus- 
tria. 

William J. Macneven began his educa- 
tion in Ireland, and at the age of ten was 
sent by his uncle to a school in Prague, 
where he received a good classical edu- 
cation and entered upon his medical stud- 
ies. He was graduated Doctor of Medi- 
cine at the University of Vienna in 1783, 
and about a year later began practice in 
Dublin, Ireland, and incidentally, early 



I.S4 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in his career, he became actively asso- 
ciated with the CathoHc Committee, and 
attained his first public prominence in 
1791 by his eloquent speech in opposition 
to the proposed remonstrance to the gov- 
ernment, on the ground that its tone was 
"too submissive and slavish." P.y this 
action he succeeded in preventing its 
unanimous adoption, and it received only 
sixty-two signatures, mostly of the loyal 
and aristocratic Catholics. This action 
brought him great popularity, and occa- 
sioned his election as representative to 
the Catholic Conference of 1792 by both 
Galway and Cavan ; he made choice of 
the latter county. His constant and out- 
spoken sympathy for his oppressed coun- 
trymen made him a leading spirit in the 
order of United Irishmen, and he became 
prominently involved in the revolution of 
1797-9S, as an associate of Lord Edward 
Fitzgerald, Arthur O'Connor and Thomas 
Addis Emmet. On March 12, 1798, he 
was arrested and confined in Kilmainham 
jail, later being removed to Fort St. 
George, where he was held for nearly 
four years. According to current report, 
he occupied his period of imprisonment 
in translating fragments of Ossian from 
the original Gaelic, and instructing Em- 
met and other captives in the French 
language with a grammar of his own 
compilation. After his release in 1802, he 
made a pedestrian trip through Switzer- 
land, which he described in his "Rambles 
through Switzerland in the Summer and 
Autumn of 1802" (1803) ; and then mak- 
ing a brief visit to relatives in Germany, 
in 1803 he went to Paris, and in either 
1803 or 1804 enlisted in the French army. 
In this course he was prompted by the 
hope that Napoleon was planning an in- 
vasion of Ireland, and having accepted a 
captain's commission in the Irish Brigade, 
entered heartily into what he believed to 
be preparations to that end. An inter- 



view with the Emperor and Talleyrand, 
however, convinced him that his hopes 
were vain, and forthwith he resigned 
from the service, and sailed from Bor- 
deaux for the United States. 

Arriving in New York City, July 4, 
1805, Dr. Macneven entered upon profes- 
sional practice, and rapidly attained a 
successful prominence. In 1808 he was 
appointed to the chair of obstetrics and 
midwifery in the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons, which he exchanged three 
years later for that of chemistry in the 
same institution. On the departure for 
Europe of Dr. John W. Francis in 1816, 
the subject of materia medica was added 
to his department, and he continued to 
give instructions in both until 1820, when 
they were again separated. He resigned 
his professorship in 1826, and with Drs. 
Mott, Francis, Hosack and Goodman, 
organized the Duane Street Medical 
School, where he held the chair of materia 
medica and therapeutics until the dissolu- 
tion of the school by legislative enact- 
ment in 1830. In 1807 Dr. Macneven be- 
came associate physician of the New 
York Almshouse under Dr. David Ho- 
sack ; on the outbreak of the cholera epi- 
demic in 1832 he was appointed to the 
municipal medical council, and assigned 
to the supervision of hospitals, and in 
1840 he was appointed by Governor Sew- 
ard resident physician of New York City. 

Dr. Macneven was to the end of his life 
yn ardent Irish patriot and devoted 
Catholic. He was a member of nearly 
every Irish society in New York, and 
long president of the Friends of Ireland. 
For the guidance of immigrants he pre- 
pared a pamphlet of directions, and 
founded an agency to obtain employment 
for Irish girls. In addition to the works 
already mentioned, he published "Pieces 
of Irish Poetry" (1807), depicting the 



155 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



careers of several of the patriots of his 
time ; "Chemical Examination of the 
Water of Schooley's Mountain" (1805), 
tending to show its value in calculus and 
nephritic diseases; and "Exposition of 
the Atomic Theory" (1819). He also 
prepared an edition of "Brande's Chem- 
istry" (1821). He was for three years 
editor of the "Medical and Philosophical 
Journal;" with David Hosack and Hugh 
Williamson he promoted the organiza- 
tion of the Literary and Philosophical 
Society of New York, and he was a fel- 
low of the American Philosophical Soci- 
ety. He was associated with Dr. Benja- 
min DeWitt, and at a later day with Dr. 
John Augustine Smith, in the editorial 
conduct of the "Medical and Philosophical 
Journal and Reviews," and contributed 
many of the most important and finished 
essays which graced its columns. 

Dr. Macneven died July 12, 1841, in 
New York City, where, in St. Paul's 
Churchyard, a stately shaft commemo- 
lates his name, attainments and service. 
Upon two sides of the upper base are in- 
scribed his birth and death, the one in 
Latin and the other in Greek. The east 
panel is inscribed: "William James Mac- 
neven, who in the cause of his native land 
sacrificed the bright prospects of his 
youth, and passed years in poverty and 
exile, till in America he found a country 
which he loved as truly as he did the land 
of his birth. To the service of this coun- 
try which had received him as a son, he 
devoted his high scientific attainments 
with eminent ability." On the north panel 
appears the following: "As Professor 
of Chemistry in the Medical Schools 
of the city, he was one of the first and 
ablest teachers in America of those dis- 
coveries and doctrines which raised 
Chemistry into a Science, and prepared it 
for future illimitable extension." 



ANDERSON, Alexander, 

Father of ^Vood Engraving in America. 

This gifted man, the father of his art 
in the United States, and its foremost 
leader for a half century, was born in 
New York City, April 21, 1775. He had 
fair educational advantages, his father in- 
tending him for the medical profession. 
Accordingly, he entered the Medical 
School of Columbia College, from which 
he was graduated at the age of twenty- 
one, and entered upon practice, but only 
continued therein for about three years. 

From his early boyhood he had a pre- 
dilection for art, and when only twelve 
years old essayed engraving on copper 
cents which he rolled out to a smooth sur- 
face, as well as upon type metal, and with 
instruments of his own fashioning. He 
continued in such work while he was a 
medical student, and among his earliest 
efforts were reproductions of the anatom- 
ical figures in his medical textbooks. He 
soon turned to engraving upon wood, 
which had hitherto been unattempted in 
this country, and three years after his 
graduation from the medical school, he 
abandoned all else for engraving. For 
about fifteen years he was entirely with- 
out competition, and for fifty years fol- 
lowing 1812 he was recognized as the 
leader in his art, to which he was so de- 
voted that he continued in it with un- 
diminished enthusiasm until his eighty- 
seventh year. Perhajis his earliest book 
illustrations were those for a work en- 
titled "The Looking-Glass for the Mind." 
Among his best known productions were 
the illustrations for "Webster's Spelling 
Book," for Bewick's "Birds," for Sir 
Charles Bell's "Anatomy," and forty 
plates to illustrate an edition of Shake- 
speare. For many years he made the 
illustrations for the books and tracts is- 
sued by the American Tract Society. He 

56 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



died in Jersey City, New Jersey, January 
i8, 1870, and his lifework was commem- 
orated in an appreciative published ad- 
dress by Benson J. Lossing. 



MOTT, Valentine, 

Distinguished Surgeon and Teacher. 

Dr. Valentine Mott, admittedly the 
most distinguished surgeon of his day, and 
a professional teacher of rare excellence 
during a period of nearly a half century, 
was born at Glen Cove, Long Island, New 
York, August 20, 1785, son of Dr. Henry 
Mott, of New York, also a physician. He 
was of English ancestry, and the .'\meri- 
can branch of his family was planted on 
Long Island in 1660, by a Mott, who was 
a Quaker. In his early life, Dr. Mott 
clung to the garb of his ancestors, and 
was known as "the Quaker Doctor." 

He received his literary education in a 
seminary at Newtown, Long Island. He 
began his medical studies under Dr. Val- 
entine Seaman, a relative, and subse- 
quently attended the Columbia College 
Medical School, from which he was 
graduated in 1806, at the age of twenty- 
one. He then went to London, England, 
and studied under the eminent Sir Astley 
Cooper, and had opportunity for hospital 
and dissecting room observations in pres- 
ence of others of the most capable prac- 
titioners of the day. These advantages 
were supplemented by a course in the 
University of Edinburgh, Scotland. 

In 1809 Dr. Mott entered upon practice 
in New York City, where his great abil- 
ities found speedy recognition and 
brought him high fame. Occupied with 
a large personal practice, he also gave 
attention to instructional work which en- 
gaged his effort, with little interruption, 
throughout his life, and for many years 
he was the most sought and highly re- 
garded of all surgical instructors in the 
United States. In 1810 he formed a pri- 



vate class in surgery, and the following 
year he was called to the chair of surgery 
in the Medical School of Columbia Col- 
lege. In 1813 he relinquished that posi- 
tion, and with some of his faculty asso- 
ciates became identified with the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons, in New York, 
and in which, at the age of twenty-nine 
years, he was elected to the chair of Prin- 
ciples and Practice of Surgery. In 1831, 
after a brief season in which he was dis- 
associated from the college, he returned 
to occupy a chair created for him, that 
of Operative Surgery and Surgical and 
Pathological Anatomy, and, at the solici- 
tation of the faculty, also taught clinical 
surgery in the New York Hospital, in 
association with Dr. Alexander H. Stev- 
ens. Four years after the latter appoint- 
ment, his close attention to professional 
duties had so worn upon his health that 
he went abroad for rest. His return was 
long delayed, and in 1837 his chair was 
abolished, but on his return he was ap- 
pointed Professor Emeritus, in recogni- 
tion of his great worth and eminently use- 
ful services. 

Besides the New York Hospital, Dr. 
Mott was connected with St. Vincent's, 
St. Luke's, the Women's, the Hebrew, 
and Bellevue hospitals. He was connec- 
ted with numerous professional bodies. 
Besides serving as president of the New 
York Academy of Medicine and holding 
membership in other medical societies, he 
was a fellow of the Medical and Chirurg- 
ical societies of London and Brussels ; of 
the Imperial Academy of Medicine, Paris, 
France, the Paris Clinical Society, and 
also of the King's and Queen's College of 
Physicians of Ireland, the latter being a 
singularly exclusive institution, having 
elected not more than a score of honorary 
members in a couple of centuries. He was 
also invested with the Turkish order of 
Medjidieh by the Sultan Abdul Medjid, as 
a reward for having removed a tumor 

157 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



from the head of that monarch, while on 
a visit to Constantinople. The University 
of Edinburgh conferred upon him the 
honorary degree of Doctor of Medicine, 
and that of Doctor of Laws came from 
the Regents of the University of New 
York in 1851. In connection with his 
other duties, he was for many years 
president of the Medical Faculty of the 
University of the City of New York, and 
of the New York Inebriate Asylum. 

Dr. Mott possessed the highest profes- 
sional qualifications — undisturbable cool- 
ness and self-reliance, iron nerves, phe- 
nomenal muscular strength, and wonder- 
fully keen eyesight ; and was able to 
operate equally well with either hand. 
He was the pioneer in numerous oper- 
ations of extreme difficulty, and which 
had hitherto been deemed impossible ; and 
he frequently repeated such in cases 
where the after treatment was as im- 
portant (and considered as dangerous) as 
the operation. His ligature of the arteria 
innominata, in 1818, was declared to have 
made "an epoch in the life of the oper- 
ator, and an era in the history of sur- 
gery." His reputation for originality and 
skill was further enhanced by his splendid 
successes in the ligature of the primitive 
iliac, the removal of the entire clavicle, 
and the resection of the inferior maxilla. 
During his professional career he per- 
formed a prodigious amount of surgical 
work, his cases surpassing in rarity and 
number those of any of his contem- 
poraries ; and his biographer declared that 
he performed "a greater number of impor- 
tant and capital operations than any sur- 
geon who ever lived," and that "for more 
than a half century his reputation was 
unequalled by that of any of his competi- 
tors in America, and scarcely surpassed 
by that of the most illustrious surgeons 
of Europe." His cases of limb amputa- 
tions aggregated the great number of 
nearly a thousand ; he performed one 



hundred and sixty-five operations in 
lithotomy with the loss of but one patient 
in twenty-seven ; and his success in rhino- 
plastic operations was unparalleled in the 
annals of American surgery. Until he 
was nearly eighty years of age he retain- 
ed perfect control of his faculties and his 
accustomed skill in the performance of 
difiicult operations. 

Dr. Mott was a teacher of rare excel- 
lence during a period of nearly half a cen- 
tury, and his pupils were numbered by the 
thousand. He was not a theoretician, but 
taught facts, and, in principal part, those 
of his own demonstration or ascertain- 
ment. His manner in the class room was 
quiet and dignified, and his voice clear 
and distinct. His regard Tor the advance- 
ment of medical knowledge is seen in his 
institution of three prize medals in 1856, 
for the best dissections and clinical re- 
ports in the University of the City of 
New York. He made by far the largest 
museum of anatomical specimens, normal 
and morbid, ever gathered together in the 
country, representing the results of half 
a century of careful personal work and 
collections, and of which a comprehensive 
illustrated catalogue was published in 
1858. It is pitiful to add that this mag- 
nificent museum was destroyed in 1866, 
by the burning of the University Medical 
College. In 1864, the year prior to his 
death. Dr. Mott was a member of a com- 
mission of medical experts sent by the 
national government to Annapolis, Mary- 
land, to examine into and report upon the 
condition of Federal soldiers just released 
from Confederate prisons. 

Unfortunately, Dr. Mott left but little 
well digested professional memorabilia. 
The greater portion of his writings are 
contained in reports of cases scattered 
through the professional periodical press 
of his day. Much of this matter has pre- 
sumably disappeared, and what remains 
is onlv accessible in a few mammoth 



158 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



libraries. In 1818, he, with Dr. John 
Watts and Dr. Alexander H. Stevens, 
founded the "New York Medical and Sur- 
gical Register," modeled somewhat after 
the "Dublin Hospital Reports," but this 
meritorious journal perished at the close 
of its first year. In 1842 he published his 
"Travels in Europe and the East,'' a 
volume of four hundred pages. In 1842- 
44 he superintended the translation by Dr. 
S. P. Townsend of Professor Velpeau's 
"Treatise on Operative Surgery," to which 
be added several hundred pages of original 
matter, principally his own previously 
published cases, and reports. In 1856 a 
second edition was brought out, which 
contained notes and annotations by Pro- 
fessor George C. Blackmail, of Cincinnati. 
On November 7, 1850, Dr. Mott delivered 
an address introductory to a course of 
lectures at the College of Physicians and 
Surgeons, under the title of "Reminis- 
cences of Aledical Teaching and Medical 
Teachers in New York." This was pub- 
lished by the class, and in the Academy 
of Medicine, New York City, is a copy 
containing the autographic inscription 
"Presented by V. Mott, M. D." The lat- 
ter pamphlet affords vivid pictures of 
some of the eminent practitioners of his 
day. In 1862 he prepared at the request 
of the United States Sanitary Commis- 
sion a paper on "The Use of Anaesthetics" 
for the use of army surgeons, and for the 
same association, at a later day, "Instruc- 
tions for First Aid to Wounded Soldiers 
on the Field of Battle." Among his impor- 
tant papers was one on "Pachydermato- 
cele" (a peculiar form of congenital tumor 
of the skin), contributed to the Royal 
Medical and Chirurgical Society of Lon- 
don, and his addresses before medical 
associations were very numerous. He had 
contemplated the writing of a work de- 
scriptive of capital operations and new 
surgical processes, of which he considered 



himself as the legitimate originator, but 
this purpose was never carried into effect. 
An abstract of his later clinical lectures 
was published by his sometime pupil. Dr. 
John W. Francis. 

Dr. Mott married, in 1819, Louisa Duns- 
more Mums, a lady of English descent ; 
she was of fine personal appearance, ele- 
gant manners, and rare intellectual en- 
dowments. Of their nine children, two 
sons embraced the profession of the 
father — Valentine Mott, after having 
served as Surgeon-in-chief of the Sicilian 
army, died of yellow fever in 1852: and 
Alexander Brown Mott, who died in 1889, 
had a distinguished career both in mili- 
tary and civil life. 

Dr. Valentine Mott died April 26, 1865. 
In 1866 the Public Charities and Cor- 
rections Commissioners of the City of 
New York placed a tablet "in grateful 
recognition of his valuable and voluntary 
services during a period of fifteen years 
as consulting surgeon of Bellevue Hos- 
pital," in the main hall of that institu- 
tion, directly opposite to the stone upon 
which stood Washington when Chancel- 
lor Livingston administered to him the 
oath of office as President of the United 
States. Over Dr. Mott's grave in Green- 
wood Cemetery, Brooklyn, New York, is 
a fine marble bust of the distinguished 
scientist and humanitarian, from the 
chisel of the accomplished sculptor Ward. 
But perhaps the most eloquent and 
worthy tribute to the memory of Dr. 
Mott is the Mott Memorial Library, 
founded by his widow. This institution, 
which was formally opened October 11, 
1866, contains the medical books and in- 
struments which belonged to the deceased, 
his desk, library chairs and clock, and 
much professional literature subsequently 
contributed by those who had known him 
in life. 

59 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



BECK, Theodore R. and John B., 

Eminent Medical Practitioners, Authors. 

These two distinguished men, both 
fanious as professional teachers and 
authors, were discriminating and vigor- 
ous writers, and produced various works 
which exerted a powerful influence upon 
the medical practice of their day. 

Theodore Romeyn Beck was born in 
Schenectady, New York, April ii, 1791, 
son of Caleb Beck. He received his liter- 
ary education at Union College, and in 
181 1, before attaining his majority, was 
graduated from the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons, New York City, his 
diploma being one of the first granted by 
the institution. He began practice in Al- 
bany, and subsequently for a time served 
as president of the now extinct College 
of Physicians and Surgeons of Western 
New York, at Geneva, and also as Pro- 
fessor of Medical Jurisprudence in that 
institution, and later took the same chair 
in the Medical College at Albany. He 
was an industrious writer, and his prin- 
cipal work (in which his brother collabor- 
ated with him) "The Elements of Medical 
Jurisprudence," first printed in 1823, and 
reprinted in London in 1842, has been 
quoted more frequently in American 
courts than has any other work on the 
subject. For several years he edited "The 
American Journal of Insanity." His 
"Statistics on Deaf-Mutes" strongly in- 
fluenced legislation favorable to these un- 
fortunates. He was at one time president 
of the New York Medical Society. He 
received the honorary degree of Doctor 
of Laws from Union College in 1842, and 
from Mercersburg (Pennsylvania) Col- 
lege in 1849. He died in Albany, New 
York, November 19, 1853. 

John Brodhead Beck, brother of Dr. 
Theodore Romeyn Beck, was born in 
Schenectady, New York, September 14, 
1794. His early education was super- 



mtended by his uncle, the Rev. John B. 
Romeyn, a ripe scholar. His literary 
training was completed at Columbia Col- 
lege, from which he was graduated in 
1813. He studied for his profession at 
the College of Physicians and Surgeons, 
graduating in 1817, and entered upon 
practice in New York City. In 1826 he 
became Professor of Materia Medica and 
Botany in the college, subsequently 
changing the latter chair for that of 
Medical Jurisprudence. His connection 
with the college only terminated with his 
death on April 9, 1851, although for three 
years previous he had been incapacitated 
for duty during a large portion of the 
time, the result of a deepseated ailment. 
From 1838 until the latter date he was 
also a trustee of the college. 

His biographer. Dr. Chandler R. Gil- 
man, referring to him in his own depart- 
ments, pronounced him "impregnable," 
and his teaching powers were character- 
ized as phenomenal. He was during a 
trying period one of the most unswerving 
supporters of the college. He was a man 
of strong character, and his hatred of 
fraud, duplicity and pretense was un- 
compromising. He was especially noted 
as a writer. His first essay, on "Infanti- 
cide," which he read at his graduation 
from the college, was regarded as particu- 
larly meritorious, and was published the 
same year, and his exhaustive and logical 
treatment of his subject was afterward 
recalled as foreshadowing his early tend- 
ency toward medical jurisprudence, in 
which department his riper knowledge 
was well displayed in his collaboration 
with his brother. Dr. Theodore Romeyn 
Beck, in that monumental work, "Ele- 
ments of Medical Jurisprudence." In 
1822 he was associated with Dr. Gerardus 
A. Dyckman and Dr. John W. Francis in 
the founding of the "Medical and Philo- 
sophical Journal," and he was for several 
years the principal editor and contributed 



160 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



much valuable matter to its columns, pared him for the sophomore class at 



various of his noteworthy addresses were 
published subsequent to their delivery, 
these including "Higher Departments of 
Education," "Analysis of the Study of 
Medicine," and "Means of Professional 
Eminence," and delivered before the col- 
lege students between 1829 and 1839, and 
"A History of American Medicine before 
the Revolution," being his address before 
the New York State Medical Society on 
taking his seat as president in 1842. In 
1849 he published his best known and 
most important work, "Essays on Infant 
Therapeutics," which was republished in 
1855. In 185 1, the year of his death, his 
lectures on "Materia Medica and Thera- 
peutics" were edited by Dr. Chandler R. 
Gilman, and the first edition was followed 
by two others. 



WAYLAND, Francis, 

Noted Educator and Anthor. 

The Rev. Francis Wayland, D. D., LL. 
D., fourth president of Brown University, 
serving from 1827 to 1855, was born in 
New York City, March 11, 1796, eldest 
son of Francis and Sarah (Moore) Way- 
land. His parents were natives of Eng- 
land who had emigrated to this country 
in 1792, his father, a currier by trade, was 
licensed to preach by the Oliver Street 
Baptist Church of New York. At length 
he determined to devote his entire life 
to the ministry, and soon accepted a call 
from the church at Poughkeepsie. His 
busy life threw the training of the son 
largely upon the mother, "a woman of 
superior mind and a discerning judg- 
ment." 

When eleven years of age, Francis 
Wayland came under the influence of 
Daniel H. Barnes, of the Dutchess Acad- 
emy, Poughkeepsie, who taught him to 
study for the love of it, and to take pride 
in acquiring knowledge. Mr. Barnes pre- 
N Y-Voi i-n 161 



Union College, from which he graduated 
in 1813. He then took a course in medical 
study at Troy, New York, but when ready 
to practice met with a profound Christian 
experience, and all the plans and ambi- 
tions of his young career were changed. 
In the autumn of i8i6he entered Andover 
Theological Seminary, where in one year 
he learned how to study and teach the 
Scriptures. In the fall of 1817 he accepted 
a tutorship at Union College, remaining 
there four years, teaching nearly every 
branch from the classics to chemistry. 
In 1821 he received a call from the First 
Baptist Church of Boston, Massachusetts, 
which he hastened to accept. Although 
profoundly learned, his early pulpit ef- 
forts were not highly successful on ac- 
count of his defective delivery, yet he 
finally overcame all these hindrances, and 
in October, 1823, delivered his memorable 
sermon on "The Moral Dignity of the 
Missionary Enterprise." This was given 
before the Boston Missionary Society, 
and, while he had become discouraged at 
his pulpit efforts, he was surprised to 
achieve a national reputation with the 
public upon the delivery of this one ser- 
mon. Until that day no single sermon 
had so wide a circulation in America. In 
September, 1826, he returned to Union 
College to fill the chair of moral phil- 
osophy, but in December he was elected 
to succeed Rev. Asa Messer as president 
of Brown University, and he accepted 
that high position, assuming his new 
duties in February, 1827. President 
Wayland's administration has been term- 
ed "the Golden Age of the University." 
His strong personality and almost match- 
less talent as a teacher, with his able 
management, greatly increased the effi- 
ciency of the institution. His lectures 
and sermons to the students were charac- 
terized by the same laborious study and 
painstaking displayed in his Boston pul- 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



pit. His years of eventful efforts had 
overthrown and overcome his early faults 
in manner of delivery, and made him an 
interesting and inspiring speaker. Not- 
withstanding his rigid rules of class dis- 
cipline, his pupils were the most atten- 
tive and his course the most popular of 
any in the college, all waiting anxiously 
to hear the "Old Doctor," as he was affec- 
tionately called. One of his eminent 
graduates wrote of him : "Six words he 
once said to the class were worth more 
to me than all other words I ever heard 
beside, they were : 'Young gentlemen, 
cherish your own conceptions'." It was 
due to his consecration and ability that 
the scholarship grew rapidly, as if by 
magic. In 1850, after receiving his report, 
the management of the college and its 
friends raised a fund of $125,000 to put 
his plans into immediate operation, which 
resulted in a complete reorganization of 
the college, and new buildings were pro- 
vided, one of which Nicholas Brown do- 
nated, and was styled Manning Hall. 

Besides his duty as president, Mr. Way. 
land was the pastor, friend, and confiden- 
tial adviser of each one of his students 
who would consult him. He had the at- 
tractive manner of addressing each as 
"My son." He also preached to the in- 
mates of the State prison at Providence, 
doing a vast amount of good in this direc- 
tion. At length he was over-exhausted by 
ceaseless toil, and in 1855 resigned, after 
which he led a retired life, save a year or 
two as the pastor of the Baptist Church 
in Providence, which he took as a duty. 
The degree of Doctor of Divinity was 
conferred upon him by Union College in 
1828 and by Harvard in 1829, the last 
named also making him LL. D. in 1852. 
His publications included: "Elements of 
Moral Science" (1835); "Elements of 
Political Economy" (1837); "The Lim- 
itations of Human Responsibility ;" 
"Thoughts on the Present Collegiate Sys- 



tem in the United States ;" "Domestic 
Slavery Considered as a Scriptural Insti- 
tution" (1845) ; ^nd a dozen more equally 
valuable productions came from his pen. 
His "Political Economy" advocated free 
trade in the very midst of an intensely 
protective tariff community, and his 
"Domestic Slavery" demanded the im- 
mediate emancipation of the slaves. His 
religious toleration was very marked and 
sincere, although his orthodoxy was in- 
deed unbending and complete. 

Dr. Wayland was twice married ; first 
to Lucy Lincoln, of Boston, Massachu- 
setts, who died in 1834; and (secondly) 
to Mrs. Hepsy S. Sage, who died in 1872. 
By his first wife he had two sons — Pro- 
fessor Francis Wayland, of Yale College, 
and H. L. Wayland, D. D., who prepared 
a memoir of their father's life and labors. 
Dr. Wayland died at Providence, Rhode 
Island, September 30, 1865. 



POTTER, Alonzo, 

Distinguished Divine. 

The Right Rev. Alonzo Potter, D. D., 
LL. D., was the third Protestant Epis- 
copal Bishop in Pennsylvania, and the for- 
ty-eighth in succession in the American 
episcopate. He was born in Beekman 
(now La Grange), New York, July 10, 
1800, and was educated in the district 
schools, the academy at Poughkeepsie, 
New York, and Union College, from 
which he was graduated in 1818 with high 
honors. The beginning of his intellectual 
life is best told in his own words : "When 
I read the story of Robinson Crusoe, the 
impetus had been given, and from that 
time forth I took pleasure in books." 

Bishop Potter was baptized at St. Pe- 
ter's Church, Philadelphia, soon after 
graduating from Union College, and was 
confirmed at Christ Church. Having de- 
termined to enter the ministry of the 
Episcopal church, he began theological 
162 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



studies under Dr. S. H. Turner, but was 
soon called to a tutorship at Union Col- 
lege, and within one year to its chair of 
Mathematics and Natural Philosophy. 
He continued his study of theology in 
Schenectady, and was admitted to de?- 
con's orders by Bishop Hobart, and 
when he was twenty-four years of age 
to the priesthood, by Bishop Brownell. 
In 1826 he succeeded to the rectorship 
of St. Paul's Chur h in Boston, Massa- 
chusetts, remained five years and re- 
signed. In 1831 he returned to Schenec- 
tady, New York, to fill the important 
chair of Moral and Intellectual Philoso- 
phy and Political Economy in Union Col- 
lege. He declined the professorship of 
Ecclesiastical History in the General The- 
ological Seminary of New York City in 
1835. In 1838 he was elected vice-presi- 
dent of Union College, and held this office 
seven years. The same year he was chosen 
assistant bishop of the Eastern diocese, 
including Maine, New Hampshire, Mas- 
sachusetts, and Rhode Island, but respect- 
fully declined the position. He received 
the degree of Doctor of Divinity from 
Kenyon College, Ohio, in 1834, from Har- 
vard University in 1843, '"^'^ Union Col- 
lege gave him the degree of LL. D. in 
1846. He was chosen Bishop of the Penn- 
sylvania Diocese, May 23, 1845, ^"d was 
consecrated September 23, holding this 
high church office until his death in 1865. 
Bishop Potter delivered lectures before 
the Lowell Institute, Boston, on Natural 
Theology and Christian Evidences, from 
1845 to 1849. -He edited several impor- 
tant works, and was author of "Political 
Economy" (1840) ; "The Principles of 
Science Applied to the Domestic and Me- 
chanic Arts" (1841); "The School and 
the Schoolmaster" (1842) ; "Hand Book 
for Readers and Students" (1843) ; "Dis- 
courses, Charges, Addresses, Pastoral 
Letters," etc. (1858); "Religious Phil- 
osophy" and other works. He was the 



author of a work on "Logarithms and 
Descriptive Geometry," which was used 
many years at Union College. 

Bishop Potter's father and mother were 
both Friends or Quakers. The father, 
Joseph Potter, represented his county in 
the State Legislature. His library con- 
sisted of a few volumes of the standard 
English authors. The mother was a 
woman of remarkable character and 
powers, having a bright and ready wit and 
strong will, such a mother as nearly all 
great men have had. From his boyhood, 
owing, possibly, to his Quaker origin, he 
cherished a deep sympathy for the op- 
pressed, and through life, in every office, 
he befriended the negro race. In the 
brief interval between his graduation and 
his return to Union College, he employed 
a portion of his time in instructing color- 
ed persons in Philadelphia, one of whom 
he raised from a house servant to a place 
in the ministry of the Episcopal Church 
among the African race in Baltimore, and 
he gathered a company of colored people 
together in Schenectady and taught them 
after he had taken his religious orders. 
He also took great interest in the organi- 
zation of Young Men's Institutes 
throughout New York, and immediately 
upon settling at Philadelphia invoked the 
help of energetic laymen to establish four 
such fraternities in that city, and gave 
them his personal service. As a bishop 
he was most distinguished for his great 
executive ability. He had a genius for 
administration. In his time the Episco- 
pal Hospital was founded, built and en- 
dowed with nearly half a million dollars. 
The Episcopal Academy, which for a half 
century had no sign of existence save 
the charter granted to it, was provided 
with commodious buildings and filled 
with pupils under his administration. His 
gifts and graces fitted him in an eminent 
degree for the performance of his duties. 
He was a ready speaker ; his thoughts 



163 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



flowed freely, gracefully and connectedly. 
He seemed to forget himself in the magni- 
tude of his subject. Pastoral visiting was 
another element of his success. In the- 
ology he belonged to the school of Bishop 
White and Bishop Griswold, rather than 
to that of Bishop Hobart. With him, 
less prominence was given to the Church 
visible, her sacraments and rites, than to 
direct spiritual ministries and practical 
helpfulness. As a teacher. Professor 
Potter was distinguished for his rare 
power of analysis, his readiness in the 
use of all of his resources of knowledge 
and his felicity of expression. He was 
eminently an educator — not content with 
mere textual recitations, but studiously 
developing powers of thought and ex- 
pression. He met error with a bold front 
in an open field, and not only silenced 
but convinced those who ventured to be- 
come its advocates. 

He wrote his "The School and the 
Schoolmaster" in 1842, and distributed it 
gratuitously in all the school districts of 
the State of New York. He strongly 
argued in that publication for the estab- 
lishment of a system of normal schools 
for teachers. The following winter the 
State Legislature enacted the bill which 
provided for such normal schools, and 
doubtless his efforts had much to do with 
the establishment of these educational in- 
stitutions. He was chosen one of the com- 
mission for such schools, June i, 1844. 
As a temperance worker, Bishop Potter 
had few equals in his day, when it was 
not so popular to be a temperance 
worker, even in the church. When liquor 
was prescribed for him while living in 
Boston, he used it for a time, but soon 
abandoned it. He was a modest man, 
as will be seen by his note to a news- 
paper man of his church in Philadelphia, 
in which he said : "I court the shade, and 
you will oblige me by being as chary of 
commendations as may be. I say 'may 



be,' for I know you must take some 
notice of passing events, but when I am 
concerned I hope it will be brief and as 
general as possible. I am sincere in the 
belief that the efficiency of my labors as 
well as the simplicity of my own char- 
acter will be in proportion to the quiet- 
ness with which I can work." Of his 
twenty years' service as Bishop, it has 
been said that very rarely have such re- 
sults as he brought about been accom- 
plished in so short a period ; the building 
of the Episcopal Hospital and Academy; 
the organization of the Divinity School, 
and the erection of thirty-five churches 
in Philadelphia alone. He succumbed, 
however, under the heavy strain. He 
made a sea voyage around Cape Horn in 
1865, hoping to regain his health, but to 
no purpose. He died July 4, 1865, while 
still on the steamer "Colorado," anchored 
in San Francisco harbor. He married 
Maria, the only daughter of President 
Eliphalet Nott, of Union College. Their 
children were : Clarkson Nott, Howard, 
Robert Brown, Edward Tuskerman, 
Henry Codman, Eliphalet, all of whom 
filled important places in life; and one 
daughter, who married Launt Thompson, 
the sculptor. 



FILLMORE, Millard, 

President of the United States. 

Millard Fillmore, thirteenth President 
of the United States, was born in Locke 
township, Cayuga county, New York, 
February 7, 1800, second son of Nathaniel 
and Phebe (Millard) Fillmore. His first 
American ancestor, John Fillmore, is 
designated in a conveyance of two acres 
of land, dated November 24, 1704, as 
"mariner of Ipswich," Massachusetts. 
His son John, born in 1702, also a sailor, 
was on board the sloop "Dolphin," off 
Cape Ann, captured by the pirate Cap- 
tain John Phillips, and with three others 



164 





Cd-'iJj) 




D 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of the crew did nine months' service on 
the pirate ship when they mutinied, kill- 
ed the officers, won the vessel, and 
brought her into Boston harbor. May 3, 
1724. The court approved the act, and 
awarded to Fillmore the sword of the 
captain, which was thereafter kept in the 
family. 

John, son of Nathaniel Fillmore, was 
a lieutenant in the F"rench and Indian and 
Revolutionary wars. Nathaniel's son, 
also named Nathaniel, was born in Ben- 
nington, Vermont, in 1771, and was mar- 
ried to Phebe Millard, the daughter of 
a clergyman. They migrated to the 
wilderness of New York in 1798 to take 
up a tract of military land, and built the 
log cabin in which Millard, the second 
son, was born. The title to the property 
proving defective, Nathaniel Millard re- 
moved to Sempronius, afterward Niles, 
Cayuga county, New York, and took a 
perpetual lease of one hundred and thirty 
acres of land covered with timber. 

As young Millard grew up, he worked 
on the farm nine months of each year, 
and the remaining three months attended 
the primitive school of the neighborhood. 
Until he was nineteen years old, the only 
books to which he had access were the 
Bible and a collection of hymns. When 
fourteen years old. he was apprenticed on 
trial for a few months to a wool-carder 
and cloth-dresser at Sparta, New York, 
his father determining to give him a 
trade rather than have him adopt the 
hard life of the farmer. In the fulling- 
mill he experienced all the ills that in 
those days fell to the lot of the appren- 
tice. He escaped corporal punishment on 
one occasion by defending himself with 
an uplifted axe, and on the day his time 
of apprenticeship ended he took his few 
belongings in a bundle and travelled on 
foot and alone one hundred miles to his 
home, the most of the distance through 
dense forests, following paths marked by 



blazed trees. In 1815 he was apprenticed 
to a Mr. Cheney, a wool-carder. He pur- 
chased a small English dictionary, his 
only text-book, and diligently studied it 
while at the carding machine. In 1819 
he purchased one year of his time, and 
began to study law in the office of Judge 
Wood, of Montville, New York, working 
in the office, garden and house, to pay 
his board. He also taught school in the 
winter, studied and practiced land sur- 
veying, and in 1823 was admitted to the 
Court of Common Pleas as an attorney, 
before he had completed the prescribed 
law course. He began practice at East 
Aurora, New York, then the home of his 
parents. He was admitted as an attor- 
ney of the Supreme Court of the State 
in 1827, and as a counsellor in 1829. He 
removed to Buffalo, New York, in 1830, 
and practiced law in partnership with 
Nathan K. Hall and Solomon G. Haven. 
They continued in business together un- 
til 1847, •I'^d were retained in most of the 
important cases that were tried in the 
Erie county courts. 

Mr. Fillmore was elected to the State 
.A.ssembly from Erie county in 1828-29- 
30-31, and while in that body drafted and 
advocated the bill for the abolition of im- 
prisonment for debt, passed in 183 1. He 
was a representative in the Twenty-third 
Congress, 1833-35, ''"^ '" the Twenty- 
fifth, Twenty-sixth, and Twenty-seventh 
Congresses, 1837-43, declining renomina- 
tion in 1842. He was chairman of the 
ways and means committee in the Twen- 
ty-seventh Congress, the duties of that 
committee at that time including also 
those of the subsequently created com- 
mittee on appropriations. He was large- 
ly responsible for the tariff bill of 1842, 
and aided Morse to get through Congress 
an appropriation to build the first tele- 
graph line. In the Whig National Con- 
vention of 1844 he was a candidate for the 
Vice-Presidential nomination, and re- 



165 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ceived the support of the delegates from 
several western States, besides his own 
delegation. At the election in November 
he was defeated in the gubernatorial con- 
test by Silas Wright, and in 1847 he was 
elected comptroller of the State. In the 
Whig National Convention of 1848 he was 
nominated for Vice-President on the sec- 
ond ballot, Abbott Lawrence, of Massa- 
chusetts, leading on the first, when the 
Southern States rallied to Fillmore. Gen- 
eral Zachary Taylor had been nominated 
for President, and at the succeeding elec- 
tion the ticket received 163 of the 290 
electoral votes, and a plurality of 139.557 
of the popular votes. Mr. Fillmore re- 
signed as comptroller in February, 1849, 
and on March 4, 1850, was inaugurated 
Vice-President of the United States. As 
president of the Senate he gave universal 
satisfaction, and his impartial rulings 
were never questioned during the seven 
months of stormy debate over the "Om- 
nibus bill" of Henry Clay. President 
Taylor died, July 9, 1850, and Mr. Fill- 
more was inaugurated President of the 
United States at noon, July 10, 1850, be- 
ing sworn in before both houses of Con- 
gress, assembled in the hall of represen- 
tatives, by Chief Justice Crouch, of the 
Circuit Court of the District of Columbia. 
President Fillmore defended New 
Mexico from invasion by promptly send- 
ing a military force to the Mexican bor- 
der. Before signing the compromise 
measures passed by Congress, including 
the fugitive slave act, he submitted them 
to the attorney-general to determine their 
constitutionality, and to his entire cabinet 
for unanimous approval, notwithstanding 
which caution he was afterward severely 
criticised for his act, and his administra- 
tion failed to receive the support of a 
large portion of his party in the north. 
The majority in both houses of Congress 
being opposed to him, his recommenda- 
tions received scant attention, and many 



of them failed of adoption. In spite of 
this opposition, he gave to the country 
cheaper postage, an enlarged and beauti- 
ful national capitol, and the benefit of a 
new market with Japan. In dealing with 
foreign powers he maintained the prin- 
ciple of non-intervention, applying it 
equally to Cuba and Hungary, without 
obtaining disfavor with the struggling 
peoples anxious to throw off the yokes of 
Spain and Austria. In his last message 
to Congress, December 6, 1852, he re- 
garded the advice of his cabinet by sup- 
pressing the portion in which he recom- 
mended a scheme of gradual emancipa- 
tion, African colonization, and full com- 
pensation to owners of slaves, the mem- 
bers of his cabinet fearing that such 
recommendations would precipitate civil 
war. He retired from the Presidency 
March 4, 1S53, leaving the country at 
peace with all other nations and pros- 
perous in all lines of trade and commerce. 
The Whig National Convention of 1852 
approved the policy of his administration 
by a vote of 227 against sixty, and he was 
a candidate for nomination as President, 
but when the ballot was taken he re- 
ceived only twenty votes from the Free 
States. He was nominated by the Amer- 
ican party for President in 1856, while 
he was absent in Europe, but the can- 
vass, as it proceeded, narrowed down to 
a contest between the Democratic and 
Republican parties, and the respective 
friends of each party, seeing no hope of 
electing Mr. Fillmore, divided their elec- 
toral vote, Maryland alone remaining 
loyal by giving him its eight electoral 
votes. He received, however, 21.57 P^"" 
cent, of the popular vote, Fremont re- 
ceiving 33.09 per cent., and Buchanan 
45.34 per cent., his exact vote being 874,- 
538 against 1,341,264 for Fremont and i,- 
838.169 for Buchanan. Mr. Fillmore vis- 
ited Europe in 1855 and was the recipient 
of attention from the Queen, the British 



166 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



cabinet, Napoleon III., and the Pope of 
Rome. He declined the proffered degree 
of D. C. L. from the University of Ox- 
ford. He established the Buffalo Histor- 
ical Society, and was chancellor of the 
University of Buffalo; member of the 
Buffalo Historical Society, and corre- 
sponding honorary member of the New 
England Historic-Genealogical Society, 
and was prominent in all public functions 
of that city. He received the honorar}^ 
degree of LL. D. from Hobart College 
in 1850. 

He was married, February 5, 1826, to 
Abigail, daughter of Rev. Lemuel Pow- 
ers ; she was born March 13, 1798, and 
died March 23, 1853. Their only daugh- 
ter, Mary Abigail, born March 27, 1830, 
died July 26, 1854; and their only son, 
Millard Powers, born April 25, 1828, be- 
came a lawyer, was clerk of the United 
States Court in Buffalo and died there, 
November 15, 1859. He married (second) 
in 1866, Mrs. Caroline (Carmichael) Mc- 
intosh, widow of Ezekiel C. Mcintosh, 
of Albany, and daughter of Charles and 
Tempe Wickham (Blackly) Carmichael, 
of Morristown, New Jersey, and with her 
visited Europe. After his return he pass- 
ed his life in retirement at his home in 
Buffalo. Mrs. Fillmore died in Buffalo, 
New York. August 11, 1881. See Irving 
Chamberlain's "Biography of Millard 
Fillmore" (1856). He died in Buffalo, 
New York, March 8, 1874. 



STEWART, Alexander Turney, 

Prominent Merchant, Philanthropist. 

Alexander Turney Stewart was born 
in Lisburn, Ireland, October 12, 1803. 
His father, a farmer, died while Alex- 
ander was a boy at school, and he resided 
with his grandfather, an affluent linen and 
lace merchant. He studied theology, but 
abandoned it, and emigrated to the 
United States in 1823, settling in New 



York City, where he taught in a private 
school. He returned to Ireland on the 
death of his grandfather, and with the 
small fortune left him purchased a stock 
of fine laces and linens, and returned to 
New York. He established himself in 
business at Broadway and Chamber 
streets, and was married to Cornelia, 
daughter of Jacob Clinch, of New York. 
In 1848 his business had so increased that 
he erected a large store, built of marble, 
on the same site, and in 1862 removed his 
business uptown on Broadway, between 
Ninth and Tenth streets, at a cost of $3,- 
000.000, and devoted his Chambers street 
store to his wholesale trade. He was 
reputed to have the largest annual in- 
come in the United States. 

He was chairman of the honorary com- 
mission sent to the Paris Exposition by 
the United States government in 1867, 
and in 1869 was appointed Secretary of 
the Treasury by President Grant, but a 
law forbidding any im.porter from hold- 
ing the office prevented his acceptance, 
and although he offered to deed all his 
business in trust, and to give his profits 
to charity, the Senate refused to change 
the law. He was active in charitable 
works in 1846, sending a shipload of pro- 
visions to the sufferers from the famine 
in Ireland ; a vessel loaded with flour to 
the French sufferers from the Franco- 
German war ; and gave $50,000 for the 
relief of the sufferers by the Chicago fire. 
He was one of the contributors to the 
sum of $100,000 presented to General 
Grant by the merchants in New York 
City, in recognition of his services dur- 
ing the Civil War. He planned to pro- 
vide an inexpensive home for working 
women, to which end he erected a large 
hotel at Park avenue and Thirty-third 
street, but died before it was completed. 
His other great benevolent enterprise 
was Garden City. Long Island, intended 
for homes for industrious mechanics of a 



167 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



higher class. Both of these enterprises 
failed, as he left no one able to fulfill his 
intentions regarding their arrangement. 
Plis wealth was estimated at $40,000,000, 
of which the bulk reverted to his wife. 
His marble mansion on Fifth avenue was 
supposed to be the finest private dwelling 
in America, and his extensive art gallery, 
which was sold at auction in 1887, was 
the most valuable in the countr3^ His 
widow erected at Garden City, the Cathe- 
dral of the Incarnation as a memorial of 
her husband, and transferred the build- 
ing, with an endowment of $15,000 per 
annum, to the diocese of Long Island. 

Mr. Stewart died in New York City, 
April ID, 1876, and two weeks later his 
body, interred in St. Mark's graveyard, 
Avas stolen. His widow, after many 
months of anxious search, made a large 
payment for its return, and placed it in 
the crypt of the cathedral at Garden 
City. 



CORNELL, Ezra, 

Philanthropist, Founder of University. 

Ezra Cornell was born at Westchester 
Landing, Westchester county, New York, 
January 11, 1807, of Puritan ancestry, and 
of what was mainly "Quaker" stock. His 
father, Elijah Cornell, was a ship carpen- 
ter, but soon after removed to De Ruyter, 
Madison county. New York, and became 
a farmer in what was then known as the 
"Quaker Basin," and, later, after a num- 
ber of changes of residence, settled in 
Ithaca, New York, where he organized a 
pottery, which still exists and prospers. 

In boyhood, Ezra Cornell was given 
a common-school education, and worked 
on the farm, in the pottery, and at the 
carpenter's trade, a vocation which he 
greatly enjoyed, and the elements of 
which he picked up without formal in- 
struction or serving an apprenticeship. 
When but seventeen years of age he and 



a younger brother framed a two-story 
dwelling for his father's family, and it 
proved one of the best-built houses in the 
village. He was next engaged for two 
or three years in lumbering, and in a 
machine-shop at Homer, New York, and 
finally returned to Ithaca, where he set- 
tled permanently in 1828. After a few 
years he became the manager of mills and 
factories at Ithaca and its vicinity, owned 
by Colonel Beebe, a then well-known 
capitalist. His wide range of experience 
in this connection, and his familiarity 
with affairs thus acquired, fitted him well 
for his next advance. He was thrown 
out of employment in 1841 by the retire- 
ment of Colonel Beebe, and just in time 
to take an interest in the Morse telegraph, 
then only recently introduced. He had 
meantime become interested in a new 
plow, and spent two years or more in an 
unsuccessful endeavor to develop the in- 
vention. Though a failure, financially, 
the enterprise brought him into acquaint- 
ance with the managers of the telegraph 
systems inaugurated by the line between 
Washington and Baltimore, and his first 
engagement was to build a machine for 
laying the conducting wire thirty inches 
underground, a machine which proved 
thoroughly satisfactory, and, giving 
young Cornell the confidence of his em- 
ployers, secured for him a permanent 
connection with the great enterprise upon 
which they -vere engaged. In less than 
r year, after many changes in general 
plans, resulting in giving the apparatus 
and line its present form, the first tele- 
graph wire was ready for operation. May 
I, 1844, and the patents were offered to 
the United States government for $100,- 
coo. an offer which was promptly de- 
clined, the postmaster general reporting 
that he was not satisfied that it could be 
made a paying system for the transmis- 
sion of messages. Mr. Cornell erected 
experimental and exhibition lines in Bos- 



168 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ton in the summer of 1844, and in New 
York in the autumn of the same year. 
As a result, the Magnetic Telegraph 
Company was organized, and its first line, 
from New York to Philadelphia, was 
finished and ready for business in the 
summer of 1845. Other companies were 
soon formed, in a number of which Mr. 
Cornell was engaged either as construc- 
tor or stockholder and usually both, and 
he gave his entire time thereafter to the 
extension of lines throughout the west. 
These were usually short and isolated 
lines, however, and the rivalries and com- 
petitions which at once arose among 
them prevented their making money. In 
1855 these companies combined to form 
the Western Union Company, and this, 
gradually absorbing the smaller lines 
both east and west, has now taken a very 
large share of the business of the United 
States, and transacts it at a lower rate 
and at a larger profit than any propor- 
tional systems of Europe. Mr. Cornell 
was, for many years, the largest individ- 
ual stockholder in this great company, 
and the improvement in value of its prop- 
erty and stock made for him a large for- 
tune, the basis of his later and greater 
philanthropic work. 

In 1858 Mr. Cornell bought an exten- 
sive farm at Ithaca, settled upon it, and 
became a large farmer and breeder of 
blooded stock. His herd of shorthorns 
was considered the finest in the country 
at the tinxe of his death. In the year 
1862, memorable as that of the passage 
of the Morrill "land grant act" by the 
United States Congress, Cornell was 
president of the State Agricultural So- 
ciety, and a trustee of the State Agricul- 
tural College, then located at Ovid, 
Seneca county, and languishing for want 
of funds. At the suggestion of Mr. Cor- 
nell, then a State Senator, this institution 
was transferred to Ithaca, and received 
the land-grant scrip assigned to New 



York by the general government. Mr. 
Cornell gave it his own farm, and an 
additional endowment of $500,000. Cor- 
nell University was then duly incor- 
porated by the State, as the recipient 
of these various gifts and transfers of 
property. The generosity of the great 
philanthropist, however, was to go still 
further. He bought the land-scrip, and 
bound himself to locate the nearly one 
million acres of public lands, and to 
sell them for the benefit of the university, 
transferring to it all his own profits from 
these sales. It thus happens that the 
university to-day possesses an endow- 
ment of enormous magnitude, and is 
carrying on the work assigned it with 
such success as to render its founder 
famous, the State more prosperous, and 
the cause of education rightfully pre- 
dominant in the minds of people and rep- 
resentatives. The faculty of the univer- 
sity was organized in 1867 by the ap- 
pointment of State Senator Andrew D. 
White as president, and the board of 
trustees included among its members 
Hiram Sibley, subsequently the founder 
of Sibley College, the School of Mechanic 
Arts and of Mechanical Engineering in 
the university ; Horace Greeley, General 
Stewart L. Woodford, and other distin- 
guished men whose names will long be 
remembered. In the inauguration of its 
great work, the university received the 
active assistance of Goldwin Smith and 
many great men of England, of James 
Russell Lowell and other famous men of 
America, and its history has been one of 
extraordinary and constant growth, 
thanks to the generosity of Ezra Cornell 
and his coadjutors, and the wholesome 
traditions established by them. 

Ezra Cornell died at Ithaca, December 
g, 1874, at the age of sixty-five years in 
his own home, beside the great institu- 
tion which bears his name and gives his 
finest fame. A youth of hard work, 
69 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



steady application, and high ambition ; a 
manhood of noblest aspirations and mar- 
velous successes, and an advanced age of 
grandest philanthropic work in the 
grandest of all causes, make the life of 
Cornell a lesson to the poor boy, the pros- 
perous man, and to the statesman and 
philanthropist alike. 



GREELEY, Horace, 

Famous Jonrnalist. 

Horace Greeley was born in Amherst, 
New Hampshire, February 3, 181 1, son 
of Zaccheus and Mary (Woodburn) 
Greeley, and great-grandson of Zaccheus 
Greeley, who with two brothers came 
from the North of Ireland and settled 
near Londonderry, New Hampshire, in 
1640. His maternal great-grandfather, 
John Woodman, emigrated to America in 
1718, landed in Boston, Massachusetts, 
and located at Nutfield, about fifteen 
miles north from Haverhill, New Hamp- 
shire. The emigrants changed the name to 
Londonderry, after the place of their na- 
tivity. In 1808 the third Zaccheus Greeley, 
the father of Horace, purchased the Stew- 
art farm near Amherst, New Hampshire. 
His mother, Mary Greeley, was a woman 
of strong brain and body, who, in addi- 
tion to her household cares, did manual 
labor in the fields, and was said to possess 
the physical endurance of an ordinary 
man and woman combined. Zaccheus, 
even with this help, found that with a 
family of seven children and an area of 
fifty acres of stony land from which to 
work out a support, he could make little 
advance toward prosperity, A succession 
of bad crops robbed him of his farm, and 
in 1821 he removed his family to West 
Haven, Vermont, where he engaged as a 
day laborer. 

While living in New Hampshire, Hor- 
ace Greeley attended the district school 
in winter, and worked with the other 



children on the farm nine months of the 
year. When six years old he declared 
his intention to become a printer, and 
when ten he applied to the village news- 
paper for a place in the printing office, 
but was turned away as "too small." The 
leading citizens of Amherst offered to 
send him to Phillips Academy at Exeter, 
but his parents declined the oiTer, as they 
were unwilling to have him, so far from 
their new home in Vermont. Horace 
continued to assist his father in daily 
manual labor, and to study evp.ry evening 
and holiday, until he saw in the "North- 
ern Spectator," 1826. an announcement 
that a young man was needed in the 
office to learn the trade of printer. He 
made the journey to East Poultney, and 
the editor, Amos Bliss, ofTered him the 
place, the terms of the indenture of ap- 
prenticeship being that Horace should 
serve for five years, should board and 
lodge with the family of Mr. Bliss, and 
should receive, after a probationary 
period of six months the sum of forty 
dollars for each year's service. Instead 
of having the drudgery of the printer's 
devil forced upon him, he was kept at the 
case and swinging the lever of the press 
on publication day, and it was not long 
before Mr. Bliss entrusted to him no 
small part of the editorial duties. His 
entire earnings were contrilnited to the 
support of the family. Before he had 
completed the time of his apprenticeship, 
"The Spectator" failed, and Horace was 
released from the terms of the indenture, 
with a knowledge of the printer's art 
exceeding that possessed by his employer 
or any of the employees of the office. His 
father had removed the family to western 
New York, having purchased a small 
farm in B'rie county, close to the Penn- 
sylvania line. Horace found irregular 
work in several of the towns in the vicin- 
ity of his father's home until he decided 
to seek employment in New York. He 



170 




'^ 



^^^'^^ J^^~^^C- 



^. 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



made the journey mostly on foot and by 
boat, and reached New York City early 
in the morning of April i8, 1831. His 
worldly possessions were on his back and 
in a small bundle that he carried in his 
hand, and his cash capital was ten dollars. 
He visited each of the offices of the eight 
daily newspapers of the city, only to be 
turned away, chiefly on account of his 
uncouth personal appearance, and the 
fear that he was a runaway apprentice. 
When thoroughly discouraged he was 
directed by a friendly Irishman, a fellow 
boarder, to the job printing establishment 
of John T. West, who gave him work on 
a 32-nio. New Testament with Greek 
references and marginal notes. This 
work had been refused by experienced 
compositors, and young Greeley accom- 
plished the task without assistance and 
to the satisfaction of Mr. West. He then 
found work in the offices of the "Evening 
Post," the "Commercial Advertiser" and 
the "Spirit of the Times." 

With Francis V. Story, Greeley started 
the "Morning Post," a one-cent paper, 
the capital being furnished by Dr. H. D. 
Shepard and the type by George Bruce. 
This venture was short lived, but Greeley 
& Story continued as book and job print- 
ers, and prospered, having contracts to 
print the "Bank Note Reporter," and, 
through Dudley S. Gregory, of Jersey 
City, secured the printing of a successful 
lottery association, publishers of the 
"Constitutionalist." On the death of Mr. 
Story, in 1832, Mr. Greeley's brother-in- 
law, Jonas Winchester, became his part- 
ner, and in 1834 Greeley & Company, 
with a cash capital of $3,000, established 
"The New Yoiker," with Horace Gree- 
ley as editor. The first number of the 
"new weekly literary and non-partisan 
political journal," as it was called, ap- 
peared March 22, 1834, and its success 
gave to Mr. Greeley a position among the 
leading journalists of the day. Before 



undertaking this venture he had refused 
to join James Gordon Bennett in estab- 
lishing the "New York Herald," and com- 
mended to Mr. Bennett a fellow printer 
who became a partner in establishing 
that paper. The political campaign of 
1838 gave birth to "The Jeffersonian" as 
a Whig organ of the State committee, the 
name being suggested by Mr. Greeley, 
who was employed to edit the paper, by 
Thurlow Weed and William H. Seward, 
his salary as editor being fixed at $1,000 
per annum. He continued to edit "The 
New Yorker," directing its policy to con- 
form with the conservative tone of "The 
Jeffersonian," which was discontinued in 
the spring of 1839. In the presidential 
canvass of 1840, H. Greeley & Company 
established "The Log Cabin," published 
simultaneously in New York and Albany. 
Of the first number of this campaign 
paper 48,000 copies were sold, and in a 
few weeks 60,000 subscriptions were re- 
ceived at the publishing office, which sub- 
scription list was afterward augmented to 
over 90,000, a circulation unprecedented 
in the history of journalism. Mr. Greeley 
did not maintain the conservative spirit 
shown in the columns of "The Jeffer- 
sonian," but made place for political car- 
toons, campaign poetry with music, and 
lectures on the elevation of the laboring 
classes. "The Log Cabin" of April 3, 
1841, announced that on Saturday, April 
10, 1841, "The Tribune," "a new morning 
journal of politics, literature and general 
intelligence," would be issued at one cent 
per copy, four dollars per year to mail 
subscribers. In September of the same 
year "The Log Cabin" and "New Yorker" 
were merged into the "Weekly Tribune," 
which became the largest circulating 
weekly publication in the United States, 
and its editor, unquestionably, wielding 
the largest influence in moulding public 
sentiment than any journalist in the land 
Thomas McElrath became Greeley's busi- 



171 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ness partner in 1841, and to his skill as a 
manager of finance "The Tribune" owed 
its great success and accumulated wealth. 
The politics of the paper passed from 
Whig to Anti-Slavery Whig, then to Re- 
publican, and, before Mr. Greeley's death, 
to Liberal Democrat. His personality 
always dominated the paper and over- 
shadowed the associate editors employed 
in the office, Raymond, Dana, Reid, 
Young, Curtis, Taylor, Fuller and Frj' 
becoming conspicuous in journalism after 
they left "The Tribune." 

In 1848 Mr. Greeley was elected a rep- 
resentative in Congress to fill the unex- 
pired term of David S. Jackson, of New 
York, and served during the second ses- 
sion of the Thirtieth Congress. He fav- 
ored the establishment of homesteads on 
the public lands, and opposed the system 
of mileage to representatives as subject 
to abuses. He visited Europe as a United 
States juror to the World's Fair in Lon- 
don in 1 85 1, and while in that city ap- 
peared before the Parliamentary commit- 
tee on newspaper taxes, and gave an ex- 
position of the newspaper press of the 
United States. He again visited Europe 
in 1855 as commissioner to the Paris Ex- 
position, and in 1859 made a journey 
across the plans to San Francisco, Cali- 
fornia. He was a presidential elector for 
the State of New York in 1864; a dele- 
gate to the Loyalists Convention in Phil- 
adelphia in 1866; and a delegate-at-large 
to the State Constitutional Convention of 
1867. He opposed Civil War in 1861, and 
recommended the exhausting of every re- 
source looking to a peaceful solution of 
the question at issue. When; however, 
South Carolina fired on the national flag 
at Fort Sumter, he advocated the calling 
out of a million volunteers to put down 
rebellion. When the seventy-five thou- 
sand volunteers called for by Mr. Lin- 
coln's first proclamation were in the field, 
he urged their immediate moving on Rich- 



mond ; and, when repeated disaster at- 
tended the Federal arms, he recommend- 
ed the emancipation of all the slaves. 
When Jeff^erson Davis was a prisoner in 
Fortress Monroe, he went upon his bail- 
bond to secure his release, notwithstand- 
ing the fact that the act ruined the sale of 
the second volume of his "American Con- 
flict." At the national convention of Lib- 
eral Republicans which met in Cincinnati, 
Ohio, May i, 1872, Mr. Greeley was nomi- 
nated for President of the United States, 
receiving 482 votes to 187 for Charles 
Francis Adams. He was also nominated 
at Baltimore, Maryland, by the Demo- 
cratic National Convention, on the first 
ballot, receiving 688 votes out of 72.') votes 
cast, and in the election that followed, 
after making a personal canvass of most 
of the States, beginning August 14, clos- 
ing the Saturday before election, he re- 
ceived 2,834,076 popular votes to 3,597,- 
070 for U. S. Grant. He had been, in 
1861, a candidate before the Republican 
caucus of the State Legislature for United 
States Senator, being defeated by Ira 
Harris at the instigation of Thurlow 
Weed, doubtless due to his opposition 
to the nomination of Mr. Seward at 
Chicago in i860; in 1861 he was also 
the unsuccessful Republican candidate 
for Controller of the State ; and in 
1870, when he was defeated for repre- 
sentative in the Forty-second Congress 
from the Sixth District of New York. 
The result of the presidential election of 
1872 being announced, he returned to the 
editorial chair of "The Tribune," but his 
health had been destroyed by the strain 
and excitement incident to the canvass, 
and brain fever resulted. He died in 
Pleasantville, New York, November 29. 
1872. His funeral was attended by the 
heads of the Federal executive and ju- 
dicial departments, and by the State exec- 
utives. Henry Ward Beecher preached 
the funeral discourse, and Edwin H. 



172 





MAJ. GiCN PIl 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Chapin conducted the services at the 
Church of the Divine Paternity. The 
printers of the United States marked his 
grave in Greenwood by a bronze bust ; 
the Tribune Association erected at the 
entrance of their building on the site of 
the "Old Tribune" a colossal bronze sit- 
ting statue ; the municipality of New 
York City erected a bronze statue in 
Greeley Square ; and his portrait, painted 
by Frank B. Carpenter, is the chief adorn- 
ment of the editorial rooms of "'The 
Tribune." 

He received the honorary degree of 
Doctor of Laws from Amherst in 1871. 
His works include: "Hints Towards Re- 
forms" (1850); "Glances at Europe" 
(1851) ; "History of the Struggle for Slav- 
ery Extension" (1856) ; "Overland Jour- 
ney to San Francisco" (i860) ; "The 
American Conflict" (two volumes, 1864- 
66) ; "Recollections of a Busy Life" 
(1868, new edition, 1873) '< "Essays on 
Political Economy" (1870), and "What I 
Know of Farming" (1871). He assisted 
in editing "A Political Text Book" (i860), 
and for many years the "Whig Alama- 
nac" and the "Tribune Almanac." James 
Parton, L. U. Reaves, Lewis D. Ingersoll 
and Francis N. Zabriskie issued books on 
the life of Horace Greeley in 1855, 1872, 
1873 and 1890, respectively, and a memo- 
rial volume was published in 1873. 



KEARNY, Philip, 

Distinguished Soldier. 

This splendid soldier and unflinching 
patriot was born June 2, 1815, in the city 
of New York, while his mother was there 
visiting relatives. He was of an old fam- 
ily originating in Ireland, his ancestors 
coming to the Perth Amboy region in the 
seventeenth century. His parents, Philip 
and Susan (Watts) Kearny, lived in New- 
ark, in what was known as the Kearny 
homestead, which was razed to give place 



to the Newark State Normal School, upon 
the grounds of which institution is a tab- 
let commemorating General Kearny's 
brilliant military career, placed there by 
the Newark Board of Education. In the 
General's boyhood the Kearny property 
reached to the Passaic, and continued on 
the other side of the stream, where, a 
few years before the Civil War, he built 
his "castle," modeled after a French 
chateau, on the ground where in earlier 
days stood the home of Peter Schuyler, 
the New Jersey hero of the French and 
Indian war. Upon Kearny's return from 
abroad, he brought his horses with him, 
and it is narrated that they were exer- 
cised daily over the broad acres east of 
the old homestead and along the river 
bank. 

He was prepared for college at Ufford's 
school, New York; at Round Hill school, 
Northampton, Massachusetts, and at 
Philipstown school, Cold Spring, New 
York ; and was graduated from Columbia 
College in 1833. He accompanied his 
cousin and future biographer, J. Watts 
de Peyster, to Europe in 1834, and while 
there was especially impressed by the 
manceuvering of the armies. On his re- 
turn he entered the law office of Peter 
Augustus Jay, but left on the death of his 
grandfather, John Watts, September 3, 
1836, from whom he inherited property 
valued at $1,000,000. 

He was commissioned second lieuten- 
ant in the First United States Dragoons, 
commanded by his uncle, Colonel Ste- 
phen Watts Kearny, March 8, 1837. He 
served on frontier duty, a part of the 
time on the stafif of General Henry Atkin- 
son. With Lieutenants William Eustis 
and Henry S. Turney he was sent by the 
War Department to study cavalry tactics 
at the Royal Cavalry School, Saumur, 
France. Kearny was made an honorary 
aide-de-camp to the Duke of Orleans, in 
Algiers and witnessed several notable ex- 

173 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ploits while attached to the Chasseurs 
d'Afrique in the campaign against Abd- 
el-Kader. Returning home, he was made 
aide-de-camp to General Alexander Ma- 
comb, commander-in-chief of the United 
States army, and to his successor, Gen- 
eral Winfield Scott, 1840-44. He accom- 
panied the expedition through South 
Pass, 1844-46, and resigned from the 
army in the latter year. 

With the outbreak of the Mexican war, 
Kearny was reinstated in the army, and 
recruited his company at Springfield, Illi- 
nois, where he was assisted by Abraham 
Lincoln. Purchasing horses which he 
equipped at his own expense, he trans- 
ported his company to New Orleans, but 
was not despatched to iMexico until Oc- 
tober, 1846. He joined General Taylor 
after the capture of Monterey, and was 
commissioned captain in December. 1846. 
When General Scott landed at Vera Cruz, 
Captain Kearny's troop was detailed as 
bodyguard to the general. Kearny dis- 
tinguished himself at Contreras and 
Churubusco, and in the latter engage- 
ment lost his left arm in a charge. He 
was brevetted major for his gallantry in 
this afifair, and on his return the Union 
Club of New York City presented him a 
splendid sword. He was stationed in 
New York on recruiting service, 1848-50; 
and in 1851 engaged in the campaign 
against the Rogue River Indians in Cali- 
fornia, commanding two companies of 
dragoons. He resigned in 1851, in order 
to make a tour of the world, and sailed 
by way of the Sandwich Islands to China, 
the East Indies, Egypt, and the Mediter- 
ranean. On his return to the United 
States he settled on and beautified his 
estate. "Belle Grove," near Newark. He 
resided in France, 1859-60; in 1859 re- 
joined the First Chasseurs d'Afrique at 
Alexandria, Egypt, and was attached to 
the cavalry of the guard under Napoleon 
III. in the war in Italy, being present on 



the field of Solferino, where his services 
were rewarded by the decoration of the 
cross of the Legion of Honor for the sec- 
ond time, he being the first American 
thus honored for military service. 

In i86[, at the outbreak of the Civil 
War, he offered his services to the United 
States and to his native State, but with- 
out success. He then went to Newark 
and aided in organizing the First New 
Jersey Brigade, composed of the First, 
Second and Third Regiments. He was 
commissioned by President Lincoln brig- 
adier-general of volunteers, to date from 
May 17, 1861. He encamped his brigade 
a few miles west from Alexandria, Vir- 
ginia, and through his superb soldierly 
qualities and masterly drill, it came to be 
noted for its wonderful efficiency and 
esprit dc corps. His were the first troops 
to occupy Manassas. McClellan tendered 
him the command of Sumner's division, 
but he declined because his own brigade 
could not be made part of his command. 
On May 2, 1S62, he was given command 
of the Third Division of the Third Corps. 
He took part in the battle of Williams- 
burg, reinforcing Hooker's division, and 
making Williamsburg a victory for the 
Federal army. He was promoted major- 
general of volunteers, to date from July 
4, 1862. At Fair Oaks he directed the 
officers of the Third Division to wear a 
"red patch" on their caps, that they could 
be readily known in battle, and this led 
to the entire division using the diamond- 
shaped badge as their designation, and 
which led to the general adoption of corps 
badges. Kearny's division joined Gen- 
eral Pope's Army of Virginia on August 
3, 1862, and took part in the Second Bat- 
tle of Bull Run. On September ist, dur- 
ing a severe storm, while General Kearny 
was reconnoitering, he inadvertently rode 
within the enemy's line. Seeing his mis- 
take, he prostrated his body on his horse's 
side, but received a shot in the spine 

74 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



which killed him instantly. General Lee 
returned the body of General Kearny 
under a flag of truce, with horse, arms 
and equipment, after Generals Jackson, 
Ewell and other general officers of the 
Confederate army had reverently escort- 
ed the body, preceded by a regimental 
band, to General Lee's headquarters. 
After his death the citizens of New Jer- 
sey erected a statue to the memory of 
Major-General Philip Kearny in the City 
Park, Newark. His remains were in- 
terred in Trinity Churchyard, New York 
City, where they remained for a period 
of fifty years, then were removed, with 
befitting military honors, to find a rest- 
ing place in national ground at West 
Point, New York. His cousin. General 
John Watts de Peyster, prepared an ex- 
haustive biography entitled: "Personal 
and Military History of Philip Kearny, 
Major-General, United States Volun- 
teers" (i86g). 



DELAFIELD, Edward, M. D., 

Practitioner and Instructor. 

Dr. Edward Delafield, who succeeded 
President Cock as president of the Col- 
lege of Physicians and Surgeons of New 
York, was born in New York City, May 
17, 1794, a son of John Delafield, who was 
a graduate of Columbia College in 1802, 
and a banker in New York and London. 
The family early acquired prominence, 
especially among the old-time residents — 
he himself being one of eleven children — 
seven sons and four daughters, all of 
whom attained more than average dis- 
tinction in professional or social life. 

Edward Delafield was graduated from 
Yale College in 1812, when eighteen 
years of age. He had already begun a 
course of medical reading under Dr. 
Samuel Burrowe, and had made such 
progress that he secured a position in the 
Medical Corps of the United States army 



during the war with Great Britain. After 
the restoration of peace he completed his 
medical education in the College of Phy- 
sicians and Surgeons, from which he was 
graduated in 1815. He then entered upon 
a term of service in the New York Hos- 
pital, after which he went to England, 
where he pursued advanced studies under 
Sir Astley Cooper and Dr. Abernethy. 
In 1820 he began practice in New York 
City in association with his former pre- 
ceptor. Dr. Burrowe, but this relation- 
ship was not long maintained. 

From the beginning of his active career. 
Dr. Delafield manifested a deep interest 
in educational and charitable institutions 
allied with the medical profession. In 
ihe first year of his entering upon prac- 
tice he was associated with Dr. John 
Kearney Rodgers in the founding of the 
New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, and 
he labored with great enthusiasm in the 
i:pbuilding of that great and splendid 
establishment. He was its attending 
surgeon until 1850, when he became con- 
sulting surgeon, and to his duties as such 
were added those of the vice-presidency. 
His active and official relationship cover- 
ed a period of fifty-five years, and only 
terminated with his death. In 1S34 Dr. 
Delafield was appointed attending phy- 
sician to the New York Hospital, and in 
the year following he became Professor 
of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women 
and Children in the College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons. As an obstetrician 
he manifested peculiar skill and aptitude, 
and he held to an ideal conception of the 
delicate and responsible position of the 
accoucheur. This was well exemplified 
on November 7, 1837, when he delivered 
before his class an introductory address 
in which he set forth in beautiful lan- 
guage and with great delicacy yet much 
forcefulness, the moral as well as the pro- 
fessional responsibilities of him who 
would become a practitioner in the de- 

75 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



partments which he taught. After dwell- 
ing upon the necessity tor the suitable 
preparation of the student in the elements 
of a polite education and the acquisition 
of knowledge in fields akin and leading to 
medicine, he epitomized the necessary 
professional studies. Referring to an- 
atomy, he said: "Before you understand 
the structure of the human body, you 
cannot possibly comprehend its diseases ; 
and you cannot too minutely investigate 
and learn every part of this beautiful and 
complicated machine." After referring 
to physiology, chemistry, surgery, ma- 
teria medica, pharmacy and therapeutics, 
he approached his own proper theme with 
a spirit of real reverence as well as of 
professional sagacity. Dr. Delafield's 
admirable address was asked for pub- 
lication, the class stating in their request 
that "it points out a course of study 
which, if diligently pursued, will not only 
guide the student to eminence in his pro- 
fession, but v^'ill also tend to elevate and 
add dignity to that profession to which 
we intend to devote our lives, and at the 
end of which your talents and assiduity 
have deservedly placed you." In 1838 Dr. 
Delafield had become burdened with so 
extensive a personal practice that he was 
obliged to resign his position in the Col- 
lege and Hospital. He maintained his 
interest in both, however, and in 1839 he 
accepted an election as a trustee in the 
College, and he gave faithful discharge to 
his duties as such until his election to the 
presidency of the institution. His ser- 
vice in that last named position extended 
over the unusual period of seventeen 
years, and was characterized by entire 
devotion to the interests of the College. 
To his effort was primarily due the with- 
drawal of the institution from the im- 
mediate authority of the Regents of the 
University and its union with Columbia 
College. He was among the most active 
in forming the Alumni Association, and 



he contributed from his private means 
toward the establishment of its prize 
fund. Dr. Delafield's activities were ex- 
tended to numerous humanitarian and 
charitable institutions, to whose support 
he contributed his effort unstintingly and 
zealously. In 1842 he founded the So- 
ciety for the Relief of Widows and Or- 
phans of Medical Men, and he was the 
first president. In 1854 he aided in estab- 
lishing the Nursery and Child's Hospital, 
and he served as president of its medical 
board from the organization and during 
the remainder of his life. He became a 
member of the board of governors of 
Roosevelt Hospital, and was president of 
that body, and he was also chairman of 
the building committee. In 1858 he be- 
came senior consulting physician of St. 
Luke's Hospital, and he occupied that 
position until his death. In 1865 he aided 
in founding the New York Ophthalmo- 
logical Society, of which he was the first 
president, and he became senior consult- 
ing physician of the Woman's Hospital 
in 1872, the year of its establishment, and 
was also president of its medical board. 
He was ever the wise counsellor, the en- 
thusiastic patron of merit, and especially 
the public spirited citizen, hardly up to 
the measure of his proper rewards. As 
a teacher, he is eulogized as being quiet, 
clear and methodical, and emphatic in his 
views, as well as terse, elegant and dis- 
tinct in his mode of expressing them. In 
very truth no annals of the College can 
be complete without his record. He was 
one of the most useful men of his day, 
and contributed in marked degree not 
only to the prosperity of the College 
with which he was so long and so inti- 
mately connected, but to the advance- 
ment of medical science in general, and 
his administration was marked by some 
of the most beneficial innovations record- 
ed in the annals of the institution. His 
death occurred February 18, 1875. 



176 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



CORNING, Erastus, 

Prominent in Bailvray Development. 

Erastus Corning was born at Norwich, 
Connecticut, December 14, 1794, son of 
Bliss and Lucinda (Smith) Corning. His 
father was an active patriot and Revolu- 
tionary soldier, and a descendant of En- 
sign Samuel Corning, who emigrated 
from England and settled at Beverly, 
Massachusetts, in 1641. 

The first business experience of Eras- 
tus Corning was as a clerk in the hard- 
ware store of his uncle, Benjamin Smith, 
in Troy, New York. In 1814 he removed 
to Albany, and formed a partnership with 
James Spencer in the hardware business. 
In 1826 he had an opportunity of purchas- 
ing a small foundry and rolling mill, and 
the firm of Norton & Corning was formed 
for the purpose. The plant was known 
as the Albany Nail Factory, and here 
Russian and Swedish bar iron was con- 
verted into plates, which were made into 
long narrow strips, and then cut into 
nails, the heads of the nails being made 
by hand. In 1830 about thirty-five work- 
men were employed, and their product 
had reached the amount of one thousand 
tons annually. In 1837 Mr. Corning be- 
came associated with John F. Winslow 
in the firm of Corning, Winslow & Com- 
pany. The buildings were enlarged, 
steam power was substituted for water, 
and the business became one of the most 
extensive in the United States. In 185c 
the firm began manufacturing puddled 
or semi-steel, which was equal to the best 
manufactured abroad, and capable of 
bearing a tensile strain of from ninety 
thousand to one hundred and eight 
pounds to the square inch, and was used 
for locomotive tires, boiler plates, car- 
riage springs, etc. Mr. Winslow's experi- 
ence in the working of metals was not 
excelled by any one in the trade. He was 
a man of genius, and invented several 
N Y-voi 1-12 I 



valuable improvements to facilitate the 
working of iron. His rotary squeezers, 
first used here, were capable of doing all 
the shingling for forty puddling furnaces, 
with but a trifle of expense for attend- 
ance, small consumption of power, no 
waste of iron, and by turning out the 
blooms very hot, facilitating the rolling. 

Mr. Corning was prominent in the de- 
velopment of the railway system of New 
York State. He was president of the 
pioneer Albany & Schenectady line, and 
its extension was largely the result of his 
efforts. He was president of the New 
York Central railroad for twelve years, 
served as mayor of Albany, and was a 
member of the State Senate during 1842- 
43. He served in Congress during 1857- 
59, and again during 1861-63, and was 
re-elected for a third term, but resigned 
on account of failing health. He was a 
member of the Peace Congress held in 
Washington, D. C, in 1861, the other 
delegates from New York State being 
David Dudley Field, James S. Wads- 
worth, Amaziah B. James, Francis 
Granger, William E. Dodge, John E. 
Wool, William Curtis Noyes, J. C. Smith, 
Greene G. Bronson, and John A. King. 
He was also a regent of the University 
of the State of New York. 

Mr. Corning was married to Harriet 
Weld. His son, Erastus Corning Jr., 
(1827-97) succeeded to the management 
of his father's business, and under his 
guidance the business was largely in- 
creased. He effected a consolidation in 
1875 with the interests of John A. Gris- 
wold & Company, under the name of the 
Albany and Rensselaer Iron and Steel 
Company, whose property consisted of 
the Albany Iron Works, the Bessemer 
Steel Works, and the Rensselaer Iron 
Works with furnaces at Hudson and Fort 
Edward. Erastus Corning Sr. died in 
Albany, New York, April 9, 1872. 



n 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



•DRAKE, Joseph Rodman, 
Favorite Poet. 

The name of this gifted man would be 
perpetuated for the period of all Ameri- 
can history were it only for his author- 
ships of his magnificent apostrophe to the 
national flag, beginning with the lines, 

When Freedom from her mountain height 
Unfurled her standard to the air. 

It was of him that Nathaniel P. Willis 
wrote: "He possessed great tenacity of 
recollection and power of quick discrimi- 
nation. His thoughts flowed gracefully, 
and his power of language was prompt. 
Indeed, his peculiarity was that of in- 
stantaneous creation, for the thought, 
imagination, truth and imagery, seemed 
to combine their results in a moment." 
His fine personal qualities are attested 
by the warm friendship which existed be- 
tween himself and Fitz Greene Halleck, 
in whose arms almost he died, and who 
penned over him the tender tribute : 

Green be the turf above thee. 
Friend of my better days! 

Joseph Rodman Drake was born in 
New York City, August 7, 1795. He was 
of the Drake family of Westchester 
county, New York, which claims descent 
from a brother of Sir Francis Drake. In 
their youth he and three sisters lost their 
parents by death, and impoverished con- 
ditions made it difficult for the young 
man to obtain an education. However, 
he succeeded measurably well, and then 
took up the study of medicine, having the 
good fortune to come under the instruc- 
tion of the talented Dr. Nicholas Ro- 
mayne, who becaine strongly attached to 
his pupil, and undoubtedly made a mark- 
ed impress upon his literary tastes. 
Young Dr. Drake, after his graduation, 
practiced his profession but a short time. 



He had made the acquaintance of Miss 
Sarah Eckford, daughter of Henry Eck- 
ford, a wealthy shipbuilder of New York, 
and their inarriage brought to him an 
ample fortune, and this, taken in connec- 
tion with his failing health, induced him 
to abandon his profession. Siiortly after 
his marriage he and his bride made a 
voyage to Europe, and after returning 
home went to New Orleans, Louisiana, 
where Mr. Drake developed consumption. 
This was in 1820, only four years after 
his marriage, and he died September 20th 
of the same year. 

Drake was a poet from his childhood. 
When little more than five years old he 
propounded a conundrum in rhyme, and 
he wrote "The Mocking Bird" when he 
was a mere child. He was only fourteen 
when he wrote part of a poem, "The Past 
and the Present," and which formed the 
conclusion of "Leon." While making his 
European tour, he addressed to his bosom 
friend Halleck two long letters in verse, 
one on Burns, and the other in Scotch- 
English dialect. Soon after returning 
home, he wrote the first of "The Croak- 
ers," which was sent anonymously to 
the "Evening Post," and was pronounced 
by the editor (William Coleman) "the 
production of genius and taste," and from 
this, Drake and Halleck were joint 
writers in continuing the series of papers 
under the title before named. Drake's most 
famous piece of verse, "The Culprit Fay," 
which has been pronounced to be "the 
most exquisite production of fancy in the 
whole line of work by American poets," 
had its origin in a conversation between 
Drake, de Kay, Halleck and James Feni- 
more Cooper, in which the streams of 
Scotland were eulogized for their beauty 
and romantic associations. Cooper and 
Halleck maintaining that .\merican rivers 
presented no such suggestive possibili- 
ties. Drake spoke warmly in rebuttal. 



178 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and three days afterward laid before his 
friends his "Culprit Fay," the scene being 
laid in the Hudson river highlands. His 
own estimate of his work was exceedingly 
modest. In his final illness, he directed 
that all his unpublished poems should be 
destroyed, which was done ; but his 
friends had taken the precaution of hav- 
ing copies made, and they were published 
subsequent to his death. 



BENNETT, James Gordon, 

Noted Journalist. 

James Gordon Bennett was born in the 
village of New Mill, in Keith, Scotland, 
September i, 1795, of French extraction, 
his ancestors having emigrated to Scot- 
land from the banks of the Seine. 

After receiving his preparatory educa- 
tion at a school in his native place, he 
was sent to a Catholic seminary in Aber- 
deen, to be fitted for the priesthood, and 
there pursued the usual college course for 
three years. By this time he had deter- 
mined to go to America, and, taking ship, 
arrived at Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1819. 
There for a time he taught bookkeeping, 
but being unsuccessful, he went to Bos- 
ton, where for three years he was em- 
ployed as a proof-reader in a printing 
house. He soon went to New York, where 
for a year he found irregular employ- 
ment, writing stray bits and paragraphs 
for various newspapers. He then accep- 
ted a position on the Charleston (South 
Carolina) "Courier," his principal work 
being the translation of articles from 
Spanish-American journals. Drifting 
back to New York, he undertook the 
establishment of a commercial school, 
and also endeavored to gain a footing in 
the journalistic world, but was for a time 
unsuccessful in all his efiforts. He did 
reporting, paragraphing, and editing, and 
then in 1827 became the Washington 
correspondent of the New York "En- 



quirer," and there made quite a reputa- 
tion for himself and the "Enquirer" by 
his accurate accounts of the proceedings 
of Congress, and by his spicily interest- 
ing descriptions of Washington life and 
people. He was a careful and interested 
student of the political history of the 
country, and when at this time he entered 
politics as a member of the Tammany 
Society, he proved to be a valuable addi- 
tion to the Democratic party. In 1829, 
at his instance, the "Courier" and the 
"Enquirer" were consolidated, and Mr. 
Bennett became associate editor, and a 
recognized leader in politics. A change in 
the policy of the "Courier and Enquirer," 
instituted by the chief editor, James Wat- 
son Webb, compelled him to withdraw 
from its editorial stafif in 1832, and he 
migrated to Philadelphia, where he bought 
an interest in the "Pennsylvanian," of 
which he became the editor. Editors 
in those days were mostly mere secre- 
taries, writing at the dictation of political 
chieftains who had their own ends to 
serve. Mr. Bennett's nature was of too 
individual and independent a stamp for 
him to act as a tool for any individual 
or body of men, and as a result he made 
a host of enemies among the Philadel- 
phia politicians, who now assailed him 
with such vehemence that he withdrew 
from the "Pennsjdvanian." 

Returning to New York, Mr. Bennett 
invested his entire savings for fifteen 
years, five hundred dollars, in establish- 
ing "The Herald," a small four-page jour- 
nal which he sold for a cent a copy. Of- 
this diminutive sheet he was sole editor, 
leporter, contributor, bookkeeper, and 
clerk. His office was in a cellar on Wall 
street, and he shared the profits of the 
venture with two young printers who 
aided him in typesetting and presswork. 
The principles on which the "Herald" 
was founded were the outgrowth of Mr. 
Bennett's observation and experience in 



179 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the field of journalism. He made his 
paper free from all party control ; the 
acquisition of news from all parts of the 
world at any cost was its chief aim ; it 
gave publicity to all forms of fraud, and 
especially to the tricks of the stock job- 
bers ; it was a disseminator of facts, not 
opinions, and it sustained every enter- 
prise calculated to elevate mankind, and 
unite all nations in commerce and civili- 
zation. On June 13, 1835, Mr. Bennett 
printed an article in which he discussed 
the state of the money market, which 
attracted wide attention by reason of its 
novelty and candor, and the money 
article became, after partisan opposition 
had been overcome, a necessary part of 
the contents of every newspaper. In July, 
1835, the "Herald" establishment was 
burned out, and the young printers de- 
serted the venture. On August 31, Mr. 
Bennett reissued the "Herald" as sole 
proprietor, and from thence it rapidly de- 
veloped into a great newspaper. He 
originated, through the incident of the 
great fire in New York on December 16, 
1835, the reporting in detail of all public 
occurrences, and he engaged special cor- 
respondents in every quarter of the globe 
to report the news from abroad. He 
established the practice of reporting ser- 
mons and the proceedings of public 
meetings ; introduced the custom of in- 
terviewing persons who had taken a 
prominent part in any great occurrence; 
first used the telegraph for reporting, and 
originated the system of distribution by 
carriers. It was by constantly adding 
novel features that he managed to keep 
the "Herald" before the public eye; and 
though the paper at one time or another 
ofifended all parties and creeds, the cir- 
culation increased rapidly, and at the end 
of a very few years, the journal had be- 
come the most valuable newspaper prop- 
erty in the country. Mr. Bennett had 
an iron constitution, which, conserved by 



his strictly temperate habits, enabled 
him to accomplish prodigious work with- 
out experiencing fatigue. He had the 
journalistic instinct to discriminate as to 
news most acceptable to his readers, and 
impressed his personality on his paper 
by directing every detail of management 
and item of news as well as the general 
shaping of popular thought and opinion. 
Mr. Bennett died in New York City, 
June I, 1872, leaving the "Herald" to his 
son, James Gordon Bennett, whom he 
had personally trained to the task of its 
continuance. 



ANDERSON, General Robert, 
Hero of Fort Sumter. 

Major-General Robert Anderson, son 
of Colonel Richard Clough and Sally 
(Marshall) Anderson, was born June 14, 
1805, at "Soldiers' Retreat," near Louis- 
ville, Kentucky, and died in Nice, France, 
October 27, 1871. He is affectionately 
remembered in Civil War annals as "Fort 
Sumter Anderson," for his heroic de- 
fense of that post at the very beginning 
of hostilities. 

His father. Colonel Richard Clough 
Anderson, son of Robert and Elizabeth 
(Clough) Anderson, was born in Han- 
over county, Virginia, January 12, 1750, 
and died at his home, "Soldiers' Retreat," 
near Louisville, Kentucky, October 15, 
1826. He was a gallant soldier of the 
Revolutionary War, and attained great 
distinction. He happened to be in Bos- 
ton as supercargo of a ship from Rich- 
mond at the time of the Boston Tea 
Party, and carried the news of that fa- 
mous episode to his friend and neighbor, 
Patrick Plenry. When the war began he 
laised a company for the Continental 
army, and was commissioned captain in 
the Fifth Virginia Regiment, Continental 
Line, the other officers of the company 
being First Lieutenant John Anderson, 



180 




'^'^^eyli lAncAi 



•^rAi_^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Second Lieutenant William Bentley, and 
Ensign Thompkins. Bancroft states in 
his history that Captain Anderson and 
his company attacked and drove the Hes- 
sian pickets at Trenton at six o'clock in 
the evening, December 26, 1776, and 
thereby might have frustrated Washing- 
ton's plan of surprising and capturing 
Colonel Rahl's command, but fortunately 
the Hessians regarded the attack as a 
mere frolic, and relaxed their vigilance. 
So Captain Anderson's name by this m- 
cident became associated with an impor- 
tant historical event. Says Striker: 
'"General Stephens sent Captain Ander- 
son over the Delaware river on a scout, 
with orders to go to several places named, 
and to go on until he did find them. Cap- 
tain Anderson passed a merry Christmas 
hunting for the Hessians, until at last, 
going south on the Pennington road, they 
ran across a picket of fifteen just north 
of Trenton. They fired a volley into the 
mercenaries, wounding six, when the rest 
fled. Then, hearing the long roll beaten, 
and the town in an uproar, Captain An- 
derson marched back towards the 
Johnson ferry." Captain Anderson was 
wounded in the battle of Trenton, and 
with Major James Monroe, afterward 
President of the United States, who was 
also wounded, he was carried over to 
Princeton on a caisson. Captain Ander- 
son was promoted to major of the First 
Virginia Regiment, and lieutenant-colonel 
of the Third Virginia. Colonel Charles 
Scott was the first colonel of the Fifth 
Virginia, and with the Fourth Virginia, 
under Colonel Elliot, and the Sixteenth 
Virginia under Colonel Buckner, formed a 
part of General Adam Stephens' brigade in 
the campaign of 1776. Colonel Ander- 
son was in the battle of Brandywine, and 
also of Germantown, and passed through 
the hungry horrors of Valley Forge. He 
was wounded at Savannah, and Count 



Pulaski, who was mortally wounded at 
the same time, gave him his sword just 
before he died. Later he was taken pris- 
oner at Charleston, after being exchanged 
he served as aide to General La Fay- 
ette in his campaign against Cornwallis 
in Virginia, and as an aide to Gov- 
ernor Nelson at the siege of Yorktown. 
At the close of the war he was present 
with the officers of the Continental army 
when they organized the Society of the 
Cincinnati, and was a charter member. 
In 1783 he was made surveyor-general of 
the Virginia Military Land District, and 
established an office in Louisville the 
same year. He attended the Danville 
Convention, and opposed the efforts of 
Wilkinson and Sebastian tO' induce the 
people of Kentucky to declare their inde- 
pendence and to form an alliance with 
Spain. Wilkinson's correspondence with 
the Spanish government shows that of 
the bribe of $100,000 recommended by 
him to be ofifered by it, $1,000 was to go 
to Richard Clough Anderson, who was 
said by W^ilkinson to be a man of ordinary 
ability but great influence. 

The military record of General Ander- 
son is one of the brightest pages of Amer- 
ican history. He was appointed to the 
Military Academy at West Point, gradu- 
ated in 1825, was commissioned second 
lieutenant, and assigned to the Third 
United States Artillery. When the Black 
Hawk War broke out, he was stationed 
at the arsenal at St. Louis, Missouri, and 
became assistant inspector-general on the 
staff of General Atkinson, and inspector- 
general and colonel of Illinois Volunteers. 
He personally mustered into service for 
that war, Captain Abraham Lincoln (after- 
wards President) — twice into the service, 
and once out of the service. He had 
charge of the Indians captured at Bad 
Axe. and personally conducted Black 
Hawk to Jefferson Barracks, his assistant 



181 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



being Lieutenant Jefferson Davis, after- 
ward head of the Southern Confederacy, 
lie was instructor of artillery at West 
Point, 1835-37, and served in the Seminole 
War in 1837-38, and was brevetted cap- 
tain. He served in the Mexican War, 
and was wounded in the battle of Molino 
del Rey. He was promoted major, in 
1S57. In November, i860, he commanded 
the troops in Charleston (South Caro- 
lina) harbor, with headquarters in Fort 
Moultrie. His subsequent conduct was 
most magnificent. He resisted all in- 
ducements to betray his trust, and his 
heroic defense ot Fort Sumter will be a 
lesson for soldiers and patriots for all 
time. President Lincoln at once commis- 
sioned him brigadier-general, and assign- 
ed him to command of the Department 
of Kentucky, and afterward that of the 
Cumberland. In October, 1861, he was 
telieved from active duty on account of 
failing health, and was on service in New 
York and at Newport, and in 1865 was 
brevetted major-general. In April, 1865, 
he was instructed by the government to 
go to Fort Sumter and raise the flag he 
was forced to lower four years before. 
In 1869 he went abroad, in hopes of re- 
newing his strength. He was one of the 
founders of the Soldiers' Home, Wash- 
ington City. He translated and adapted 
from the French "Instructions for Field 
Artillery, Horse and Foot" (1840), and 
"Evolutions of Field flatteries" (i860). 

General Robert Anderson married, 
March 26, 1842, Eliza Bayard Clinch, of 
Georgia, daughter of General Duncan 
Lamont Clinch, United States army, and 
his wife, Eliza Bayard Mackintosh 
Clinch. Children : Marie L. ; Sophie C. ; 
Eliza Mackintosh Clinch, who became 
wife of James Marsland Lawton ; Robert 
.Anderson Jr., and Duncan Lamont 
Clinch Anderson, both deceased. 



BRADY, James T., 

Distinguished Ziaxirjrer. 

James T. Brady was born in New York 
City, April 9, 1815, son of Thomas S. 
Brady, a well known lawyer. He studied 
under direction of his father, and was 
admitted to the New York bar in 1836. 
He soon rose to the foremost rank of his 
profession, and came to be noted as one 
of the most brilliant members of the New 
York bar. 

He was appointed district attorney of 
New York in 1843, and in 1845 became 
corporation attorney for the city. Al- 
thougli more than ordinarily successful in 
causes of all kinds, he was especially 
skilled in conducting criminal cases, and 
rarely failed to obtain a favorable verdict 
for his client. He earned a world-wide 
notoriety for his successful defence of 
Daniel E. Sickles, when on trial for 
shooting Philip Barton Key. During his 
long career before the New York courts, 
his services were retained in many im- 
portant cases, and. busy as he was, he 
never refused to aid any poor unfortunate 
v.hose means would not permit the em- 
ployment of competent counsel. He took 
an interest in politics, and frequently 
made speeches on national questions, but 
his profession so absorbed his time as to 
preclude his acceptance of any of the 
])ubHc offices and trusts which were fre- 
ciuently offered him. In 1865 he was 
appointed a member of a commission to 
investigate the operations of Generals 
f!utler and Banks in the administration 
of the Gulf Military Department, but the 
report was never made public. He was 
a graceful writer, and, besides his fre- 
quent contributions to magazines and 
journals, he published "A Christmas 
Dream" (1846). He died in New York 
City, February' 9, 1869. 



182 




JAMES T. BRADY 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



BURLINGAME, Anson, 

Distliig:uislied Diplomatist. 

To this talented man, the foremost of 
American diplomatists in his day, is to 
be awarded the honor of effecting many 
important treaties with the leading na- 
tions of Europe, and of being instru- 
mental in obtaining from China its first 
recognition of the principles of interna- 
tional law. 

Anson Burlingame was born in New 
Berlin, Chenango county. New York, No- 
vember 14, 1820, son of Joel Burlingame, 
a modest farmer, and a descendant of 
Roger Burlingame, one of the earliest 
settlers of Warwick, Rhode Island. His 
mother was a granddaughter of Colonel 
Israel Angell. While he was a youth, 
his parents removed to Michigan, and 
young Burlingame there began his edu- 
cation in the public schools, then enter- 
ing the University of Michigan, from 
which he was graduated in 1841, having 
distinguished himself by his ability in de- 
bate in the college lyceums. He then 
entered the Harvard Law School, Cam- 
bridge, Massachusetts, and graduated in 
1846 with great credit. He engaged in 
law practice in Boston, in association 
with Henry S. Briggs, son of George N. 
Briggs, Governor of Massachusetts. 

It was not long before he entered the 
political field, first as an earnest advocate 
of the free-soil movement as opposed to 
the extension of slavery. In the presi- 
dential campaign of 1848 he was a force- 
ful and attractive figure, his easy man- 
ners, eloquent language and enthusiasm 
in the presentation of his subject giving 
him a strong hold upon his hearers. In 
1852 he was elected to the State Senate, 
and the following year to the State Con- 
stitutional Convention. In 1854 he 
joined the newly formed American party, 
by which he was elected to Congress, in 
which body he took every possible oc- 



casion to express his abhorrence of hu- 
man slavery. In 1855 he aided in the 
formation of the Republican party, and in 
the presidential campaign of the follow- 
ing year he was a leading exponent of 
free-soil principles. While he was still 
in Congress, Preston S. Brooks made his 
dastardly assault upon Senator Sumner, 
in the Senate chamber, and Mr. Burlin- 
game denounced the outrage in such 
strong terms that Brooks challenged him 
'to mortal combat. Mr. Burlingame ac- 
cepted, naming rifles as the weapons, 
and Navy Island, above Niagara Falls, 
as the place. The denouement was 
inglorious for the challenger, who failed 
to appear, alleging, in excuse therefor, 
that he was fearful of violence should he 
attempt to pass through what he termed 
"the enemy's country." Throughout the 
entire north, Mr. Burlingame's conduct 
vv-as enthusiastically applauded. He was 
elected to the Thirty-fifth and Thirty- 
sixth Congresses, but was defeated for 
the Thirty-seventh Congress. 

Mr. Burlingame's diplomatic career 
i)egan in 1861, without promise of the 
Ijrilliancy which characterized it later. 
.Appointed Minister to Austria by Presi- 
dent Lincoln almost immediately after 
his inauguration. Mr. Burlingame was 
regarded by the court to which he was 
accredited, as persona non grata, on ac- 
count of his speeches in Congress in 
which he favored the recognition of Hun- 
garian independence and of Sardinia, as 
a first-class power, Mr. Burlingame was 
now sent to China, where he rendered 
most useful service until 1865, when he 
returned home, intending to leave the 
diplomatic service entirel} . From this pur- 
pose, however, he was dissuaded by Mr. 
William H. Seward, Secretary of State, 
who was embarrassed by certain uncom- 
pleted negotiations with the Chinese gov- 
ernment, and he returned to his post. 
Two years later, in 1867, he resigned, re- 



183 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



reiving at the same time from Prince 
Kung, the head of the Department of 
State of China, such an honor as had never 
before been conferred upon a foreigner — 
that of appointment as special envoy not 
only to the United States but to all the 
European powers having treaties with 
China, this great distinction being given 
him on account of unbounded confidence 
in his integrity, and his entire familiarity 
with the international relations of the 
Celestial Empire. His mission was nota- 
ably novel, and he acquitted himself so 
creditably that he was accorded world- 
wide recognition as one of the foremost 
diplomatists of the age. In discharge of 
his mission, in 1868 he arrived in the 
United States at the head of a body 
of distinguished Chinese officials, with 
whom he effected a treaty known by his 
name, which was signed at Washington 
City on July 28th of that year, and was 
soon afterward ratified by the Chinese 
home government. The treaty comprised 
eight articles supplementary to the treaty 
of 1858, and was notable by reason of its 
conferring privileges of great importance 
upon the respective nations, and also of 
the recognition, for the first time, of the 
principles of international law by the 
Chinese government. In the autumn of 
the same year (1868) Mr. Burlingame 
went on his diplomatic mission to Eng- 
land, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Prus- 
sia and France and effected important 
treaties with all these countries except 
that last named. He reached St. Peters- 
burg in 1870, and had just begun his 
work there, when he was prostrated by 
penumonia, and died on February 23rd. 
His remains were brought home, and 
after lying in state in Faneuil Hall, Bos- 
ton, were interred in Mt. Auburn, April 
23, 1870. 

Mr. Burlingame married Jane, daugh- 
ter of Isaac Livermore, of Cambridge, 
Massachusetts, and they were the par- 
ents of three children. 



NOTT, Eliphalet, 

Clergyman, Educator, Executive. 

The educational policy of New York 
is of a dual character — State support and 
control of elementary education; indi- 
vidual support (mainly) of higher educa- 
tion under State supervision, with sec- 
ondary education partly at private and 
partly at public expense. Through the 
voluntary principle, as distinguished 
from that of public largess, exemplified 
in the universities of the West, New York 
has a proud record in what she has done 
for the evolution of higher education ; 
and, as related to this, there is no chap- 
ter in her history more interesting, as 
there is no figure more commanding than 
that of Eliphalet Nott, for the inspiration 
he furnished and the work he accom- 
plished during the sixty-two years of his 
presidency of Union College. 

He was of honorable Puritan ancestry. 
The name of John Nott appears among 
those of the first settlers in the Connecti- 
cut valley. He came from Nottingham, 
England, to Wethersfield about 1640, but 
twenty years after the landing of the 
"Mayflower." He was a considerable 
landowner and represented the town, for 
several terms in the Colonial General As- 
sembly. He left two daughters and a 
son. The elder daughter, Elizabeth, mar- 
ried Robert Reeve, one of whose descend- 
ants. Judge Tapping Reeve, was the 
founder of the Litchfield Law School; 
the other daughter, Hannah, was mar- 
ried to John Hale, and was the grand- 
mother of Captain Nathan Hale, the 
martyr-spy of the Revolution. The son 
bore the Christian name of his father and 
married Mrs. Patience Miller, March 28, 
1683. by her having seven sons and two 
daughters. Their eighth issue was Abra- 
ham Nott, born January 29, 1696. He 
was graduated from Yale College in 1720, 
was ordained to the Congregational min- 
istry and installed pastor of the second 



184 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



church in Saybrook of that denomination 
in 1725, holding his charge until his death 
in 1756 — a typical New England pas- 
torate of his day. Four sons survived 
him, of whom the second was Stephen, 
the father of Eliphalet, born July 20, 1728, 
who married, in 1749, Deborah, the sec- 
ond daughter of Samuel Selden, the Sel- 
den family being already a notable one, 
as it has also later been eminent in pro- 
fessional and business activities. 

To Stephen Nott six children were 
born ; the eldest, a girl, died early ; Sam- 
uel, the first son, a clergyman, who held 
a pastorate for seventy years at Franklin, 
Connecticut, and lived to be almost a cen- 
tenarian, was born in Stratford, January 
23, 1754 ; three daughters followed ; and 
Eliphalet, the second son and youngest 
child, was born in Ashford, Windham 
county, June 25, 1773. Fair auspices and 
comparative comfort waited upon the 
opening period of his parents' union ; but, 
within a decade, constant misfortune en- 
sued. His father was a God-fearing, in- 
dustrious and aiTectionate man, but dis- 
asters, for which he seems in no wise re- 
sponsible succeeded each other in dismal 
train, including the burning of his Strat- 
ford home, the highway robbery from 
him of a large amount of money, his 
lodgement in a debtor's prison, several 
changes in abode in vain attempts to 
wrest a living from the reluctant soil and 
declining health. The mother, charming, 
intelligent, vivacious, became, through 
the severe discipline of poverty, resource- 
ful, skilled in all household labors, bravely 
fighting penury, meanwhile instructing 
her children in the spelling book and the 
Bible, there being no school in Ashford, 
within a distance of several miles from 
their home. The lessons she taught en- 
forced themselves upon their minds and 
hearts and especially upon the youngest 
child who, throughout his life, acknowl- 
edged his obligations to her in imbuing 



him with virtuous principles and equip- 
ping him for a career of honor and influ- 
ence. 

From his eighth to his sixteenth year, 
he lived, for the most part, with his 
brother Samuel, in the Franklin parson- 
age, at intervals repairing to the Ash- 
ford home to aid the family in its strait- 
ened circumstances — res augusta domi. 
The Rev. Samuel was an accomplished 
teacher in the higher branches, eking out 
his slender income by fitting youths for 
college, as many New England divines of 
his day did ; and, under his skillful in- 
struction, Eliphalet, diligently applying 
himself, made rapid progress in classical, 
methematical and cognate subjects. At 
sixteen he became a member of his 
brother's church, already with the view 
of the Christian ministry as his profes- 
sion. The next four years he was himself 
a teacher in the common schools of the 
region and, so pronounced were his 
merits, that, before he was twenty, he 
was tendered the principalship of the 
Plainfield Academy. As such, he was 
very successful, not alone with rare in- 
sight in stimulating the interest of his 
pupils in their studies, but also in his 
methods of discipline — those of love, 
rather than of harshness, among other 
things abolishing the rod as a punish- 
ment for wrong-doing — presaging his 
splendid achievements in character build- 
ing, during his college presidency. There, 
too, he secured the friendship and bene- 
fitted by the influence of the Rev. Joel 
Benedict, the "Master of the Academy," 
with chief supervision of its affairs, a ripe 
scholar, able theologian and cultured 
gentleman of genial ways and liberal 
spirit, in whose household he formed an 
attachment with the eldest daughter, 
Sarah Maria, an attractive, pious and 
beautiful maiden, whom he married July 
4, 1796. He continued his cultural studies 
with Dr. Benedict and, in 1795, passed 



185 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the nnal examinations of Brown Univer- 
sity, but, as he had not been connected 
with the class, did not receive the Bach- 
elor of Arts diploma, but was given a 
certificate of his proficiency and subse- 
quently the degree of Master of Arts was 
bestowed upon him by the institution, in 
whose welfare he always maintained a 
lively interest. 

He was licensed to preach by the Con- 
gregational Association of New London 
county, June 26, 1796. He was married, 
as has been seen, a few days later, and 
immediately undertook a mission to New 
York, at the instance of the Domestic 
Missionary Society of Connecticut, al- 
though he received a number of flatter- 
ing calls to New England charges. 

On this mission he proceeded on horse- 
back, not without some hardships on the 
way, and reached Cherry Valley, then re- 
covering from the ravages of the Border 
Warfare, with a Presbyterian church, 
dating from 1741, which had recently 
erected a new edifice ; and a comely and 
commodious academy had been built by 
public-spirited citizens; but the one was 
without a pastor and the other without a 
preceptor ; and there he stayed, being at 
once invited to both places. Accepting 
each, he returned to Plainfield for his 
wife, and meeting his dual responsibil- 
ities with marked acceptability and use- 
fulness during the ensuing two years. 
Much of his work was of a constructive 
character. He revivified the church and 
placed the academy among the first of 
its kind in the State, and it became one 
of the main feeders of the college over 
which he so long presided. "Only in rare 
instances," says Judge William W. Camp- 
bell, "did a young man fitted for college 
think it possible for him to go elsewhere 
(than Union) for his education." The 
knowledge of Mr. Nott as a preacher of 
uncommon gifts soon spread throughout 
the surrounding region : and. in T/qS, he 



was called to the Presbyterian church in 
Albany, then the largest and strongest 
communion in the capital city. 

His ministrations there are among the 
most memorable in the clerical annals of 
the land, as displayed in power and bril- 
liancy of speech and in beneficent influ- 
ence upon both the church and the com- 
munity. He was but twenty-five years 
of age when they began and thirty-one 
when they ended. His sermons glowed 
with the fervor of youth, but were also 
distinguished for maturity of thought, 
wide information, rich imagination and 
strength of reasoning, set ofif with rare 
felicity of elocution and a presence at 
once pleasing and dignified. The hostil- 
ity of the Scotch in his congregation to 
manuscript discourses led him to com- 
mit his sermons to memory, he being 
among the first of American clergymen 
to adopt this style of delivery. His utter- 
ances crowded the pews, enhancing both 
the spirituality and prosperity of the 
church and attracting outside audiences, 
the great lawyers, in attendance at the 
courts — William W. Van Ness, Gouve- 
neur Morris, Alexander Hamilton, Chan- 
cellor Kent, Brockholst Livingston and 
others — being recorded among his ad- 
admiring hearers whenever they were in 
.'Vlbany. His activities were not, how- 
ever, comfined to his own church. Cath- 
olic in his theological views, he found 
ready access to the hearts of citizens of 
all denominations and his counsel was 
eagerly sought and freely rendered. His 
fame as an orator made his services in 
constant requisition for addresses on lit- 
erary, patriotic and various public occa- 
sions. His most notable deliverance was 
that, at the invitation of the common 
council, upon the tragic death of Hamil- 
ton to whom he was attached devotedly. 
It made a profound impression upon the 
c(Hmtry and probably did more than any 
other agencv to forever ban the duello — 

.86 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in the North at least. It is a classic now. 
In local charities, he was conspicuous and 
serviceable, his appeals being as persua- 
sive as they were true-hearted. In educa- 
tional matters he was active, among other 
things outlining plans for the foundation 
of the Albany Academy and becoming an 
efficient trustee of Union College, then in 
its infancy. Early in 1S04 he suffered 
supreme affliction in the death, after a 
prolonged illness, of his wife. She had 
been a loving and helpful consort and 
had borne him four children. 

A few weeks after the discourse on 
Hamilton was published and due in part 
to the fame of that production, Mr. Nott 
received an invitation to the presidency 
of Union College. After due delibera- 
tion he accepted it, believing that his 
greatest efhciency would be developed as 
its head rather than in the pulpit. This 
college, the second to be chartered by the 
State, had had three presidents, all of sig- 
nal worth, one of whom Dr. Jonathan Ed- 
wards, D. D., had died in harness and 
another. Dr. Jonathan Maxcy, had gone 
to the presidency of South Carolina Col- 
lege, for climatic reasons ; but it was still 
weak in equipment and straitened in 
means. Its upbuilding, a work of no ordi- 
nary magnitude and of vital responsibil- 
ity, was yet to he accomplished. The 
thoroughness with which that work was 
done and the proud position attained by 
"old Union" during the sixty-two years 
of Dr. Nott's incumbency are among the 
grandest achievements of higher educa- 
tion in the Empire State. He entered 
upon it with rapt consecration ; he pur- 
sued it with extraordinary gifts as an 
organizer, executive and educator until 
he made it one of the strongest and best 
known seminaries in the land. It is im- 
possible, within prescribed limitations, to 
detail its history. • This may be found in 
the exhaustive volumes by a recent presi- 
dent of the institution — Dr. .Andrew V. 



V. Raymond — and in the "Memoirs of 
Eliphalet Nott, D. D., LL. D.," by Dr. 
Van Santwood. Brief notes, however, 
may be made of his success in the triple 
capacity indicated. 

The degree of Doctor of Divinity was 
conferred upon Mr. Nott in 1805 and 
that of Doctor of Laws, somewhat later, 
by another college. And it was as thus 
laureated that, at thirty-two years of age, 
he was established at Schenectady. His 
first and long continued employment was 
that of an organizer, and as money was 
sorely needed he became an assiduous 
solicitor for funds and a singularly for- 
tunate one as well. At his accession, 
scared}" $30,000 had been obtained from 
individual subscriptions and less than 
that from the State. The latter had not 
then adopted the policy of refusing dona- 
tions to colleges, and so cap-in-hand he 
went to the Legislature for them — a 
lobbyist, if you will, hut an earnest one 
in a good cause. By authorized lotteries, 
then not repugnant even to the religious 
sense, by loans and by gifts, he soon se- 
cured about $300,000, expended mainly 
on buildings, equipment and free scholar- 
ships. The faculty was consistently 
strengthened and bears upon its roll 
many erudite professors — Joel Nott (the 
president's son), Jackson, Foster, Alonzo 
Potter, Tayler Lewis, ct al. Students in- 
creased by leaps and bounds. In 1804 
there were but forty of these. In 1813 
there were two hundred ; and by 1850 the 
graduating classes numbered one hun- 
dred and over, excelling even those of 
Harvard and Yale in this regard. The 
latter years of his presidenc}' are those 
of augmenting attendance, competent in- 
struction and financial prosperity, him- 
self having donated over $600,000, accru- 
ing from his business operations with the 
State and otherwise — a splendid evidence 
of his unselfishness and executive ability. 

As an educator, two features of his 



187 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



administration — the differentiation of 
courses and the personal equation — are 
particularly noticeable. He was the pio- 
neer in introducing in American colleges 
the scientific curriculum leading to the 
Bachelor of Law certificate coiucidently 
with the classical crowned with the Bach- 
elor of Arts degree. In this there was no 
confusion of degrees, as is witnessed in 
some of our universities. Each meant 
what it said — the one for proficiency in 
the humanities ; the other for that in 
scientific or utilitarian branches. Its 
merits need not here be discussed, save 
to observe that it has proved productive 
of large benefit to many unwilling or un- 
able to obtain a fully rounded education 
— to climb the successive rungs of the 
educational ladder — the grammar, the 
high school, the college, the university. 
Too much cannot be said, even at this 
time, concerning the personal equation — 
the close association with and influence 
upon the student by the preceptor. Dr. 
Nott's government was paternal. He 
ruled by the law of love, as already allud- 
ed to in his conduct of the Plainfield 
Academy. Students were welcomed to 
his presence and advice. He acquainted 
himself with their dispositions and con- 
sulted their tastes. The college was 
neither monastic in discipline nor a 
counting room — merely so much instruc- 
tion for so much money. It was a home. 
Character building was quite as essential, 
in his view, as the routine of books. It 
was charged that admission to Union 
was promiscuous, without regard to 
qualification or desert; and, gravamen of 
ofifense, that its doors were open to stu- 
dents from other institutions without 
honorable dismissal therefrom. In deri- 
sion of this, it was known in certain quar- 
ters as "Botany Boy." It is true that, in 
some instances, the "honorable dismissal" 
was waived, but it is also true that in 
these cases the president investigated the 



record of the applicant and his promise of 
retrieval as well, and with his favorite 
expression of "give him another chance," 
did so ; and it is further true that in the 
bright array of Union alumni — -none 
brighter in any northern college in the 
first half of the nineteenth century, many 
of these are included — saved for useful- 
ness and honor. 

Outside the college, the president 
busied himself in many activities and 
philanthropies. He was among the fore- 
most advocates of the temperance reform, 
but upon the ground that forcible pro- 
hibition was ineffectual in advance of 
public sentiment. He was decided in his 
anti-slavery convictions, denouncing the 
institution in severe terms and aiding all 
efforts to weaken it, within constitutional 
limitations, although Union throughout 
had many students from the South. Never 
actively engaged in politics, his views 
were in the Federalist-Whig-Republican 
line, and he was consulted frequently by 
leading statesmen both by those within 
and without his own party, including 
Hamilton, Ambrose Spencer, Kent, De- 
Witt Clinton, Wright, John C. Spencer 
and Seward, the two last being Union 
graduates. He was in constant demand 
for pulpit and public addresses, with con- 
stantly appreciating reputation as an ora- 
tor. Cordially interested in scientific in- 
vestigations, he was also a discoverer and 
inventor obtaining patents for stoves, im- 
provements in steamboat machinery and 
other mechanical devices, remunerative 
to him and promotive of the weal of his 
fellows. The red-letter day of Dr. Nott's 
life was that of the commencement of 
1854 — without a parallel in the history of 
American colleges — the fiftieth anniver- 
sary of his presidency. A host of gradu- 
ates returned to their Alma Mater to see 
and to hear their "guide, philosopher and 
friend ;" and many scholars and states- 
men joined in paying tribute to him. Ad- 



188 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



dresses were made by Judge Campbell, 
of the class of 1827; Dr. Wayland, of 
1813, long a member of the faculty and 
then president of Brown University ; the 
Right Rev. Upford, of 1814, Protestant 
Episcopal bishop of Indiana, and Judge 
Amasa J. Parker, of 1825. Dr. Nott's 
own address, at the age of eighty-one, 
was peculiarly eloquent, tender and im- 
pressive, over an hour in length, given 
memoriter, and showing no sign of mental 
decay. His eye was still bright, his form 
erect and his voice clear and distinct. 

His health remained comparatively good 
for five years longer; but in May, 1859, 
he was prostrated by a paralytic stroke, 
from which, for a time, he rallied, the de- 
cline of his powers, however, proceeding 
slowly until his death, January 29, 1866, 
at the extreme age of ninety-two years. 
He had thrice married. His second wife, 
whom he wedded August 3, 1807, was 
Mrs. Gertrude Peebles Tibbitts, of Troy, 
a woman of large property, charming 
personality and gracious hospitality. She 
died in 1840. He espoused Urania E. 
Sheldon, of Utica, August 8, 1842, who 
survived him. She was of rare worth and 
accomplishments, very helpful to him and 
devoted to his memory, while she lived. 
By his first wife he had four children: 
Joel, the professor, born 1797; Maria, 
born 1799, of whom the president was 
exceedingly fond, who was married to 
Alonzo Potter, for many years a mem- 
ber of the Union faculty, especially trust- 
ed by his father-in-law and later the emi- 
nent bishop of Pennsylvania, and had 
issue, Clarkson N., a distinguished repre- 
sentative in Congress : Howard, the well- 
known banker ; Henry C, bishop of New 
York, and Eliphalet Nott, president of 
Union and Hobart Colleges; John, born 
1801 ; and Benjamin, born 1803. Presi- 
dent Nott is buried in the Vale Ceme- 
tery, in the rear of the Universiti\ 



FOLGER, Charles James, 

Iiegislator, Jnrist, Cabinet Official. 

No section of the land has produced 
men — and women as well — more virtu- 
ous, self-respecting, sturdy and patriotic, 
than the small, sea-girt island of Nan- 
tucket, where the wind, as it sweeps un- 
fettered across the Atlantic, bears inspi- 
ration to enterprise and well-doing. Of 
Puritan stock, of righteous Puritan prin- 
ciples, of robust frame and masterful soul, 
many of them have been explorers and 
victors of the sea, chasing and capturing 
the monarch of the deep, far within the 
Arctic circle. The same spirit of discov- 
ery and daring has led others to the con- 
quest of the soil, in the march of the 
mighty host from New England to the 
West, subduing as it marched, not in- 
frequently alluded to in these sketches. 
Among the island families none has been 
of mien more honorable, nor of prestige 
superior to that of the Folgers. Its "cap- 
tains courageous" have appeared through- 
out the generations. They may be seen 
on the wharves or at the street corners ; 
or could be, thirty years ago, when the 
present writer last visited the quaint, old 
town. The progenitor, John, came to 
America from Norwich, England, in 1630, 
and settled in Watertown, Massachu- 
setts ; thence going to Martha's Vineyard 
in 1641 ; and to Nantucket in 1663, there 
stringing the permanent roof tree, under 
which, if we are not mistaken, a Folger 
branch still abides. His son Peter was 
second in line; and his descendant mi- 
grated to Western New York, making his 
home near Geneva in 1831. With him 
came his son, Charles James, then thir- 
teen years of age, having been born on 
Nantucket, April 16, 1818. 

His early education was of the village 
school and academic order ; he was grad- 
uated from Geneva College, now Hobart, 



189 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in 1836, honor man of his class; and was 
admitted to the bar at Albany in 1830. 
His legal and political chronology here 
follows: He practiced in Geneva, was 
justice of the peace, 1839-43; judge of 
Ontario county, 1844-45 ^""^ 1851-55; 
master and examiner in charge, 1843-46; 
State Senator and chairman of the ju- 
diciary committee of the Senate, 1861- 
69; and delegate and chairman of the 
judiciary committee in the State Consti- 
tutional Convention of 1867. He received 
from President Grant the appointment of 
United States Assistant Treasurer at 
New York in 1869. He resigned the posi- 
tion in 1871, having been elected asso- 
ciate judge of the New York Court of 
Appeals, and was made chief judge of the 
court by appointment of Governor Cor- 
nell in 1880, to fill the unexpired term of 
Sanford E. Church, deceased. He was re- 
elected to the Court of Appeals by a ma- 
jority of 45,000 in 1880, for a full term 
of fourteen years, but resigned in 1881 to 
accept the portfolio of the United States 
Treasury in the cabinet of President 
Arthur, which he held up to the time of 
his death. He was defeated in the guber- 
natorial election of 1882 by Grover Cleve- 
land, who received a majority of nearly 
200,000 votes. He was a trustee of Cor- 
nell University, 1865-73; ^ benefactor of 
the library of Hobart College ; and re- 
ceived the degree of Master of Arts from 
Hobart in 1840, and that of Doctor of 
Laws in 1870. He also received the de- 
gree of Doctor of Laws from Rutgers in 
1870. 

Judge Folger entered [)ublic life as 
a Democrat and earnestly and consist- 
ently advocated the principles and poli- 
cies of his party until 1S56. when, upon 
the burning issue of the repeal of the 
Missouri compromise, he joined in the 
great exodus of northern Democrats into 
the newly formed Republican party and 
thenceforth was its ardent protagonist. 



prominent in its councils and campaigns. 
Beginning practice in Geneva, his life- 
long residence, his high standing at the 
jjar and confldence in him were at once 
assured, and it is here to be noted that 
absolute trust in his integrity, whether 
as a legislator, jurist or citizen, attended 
and distinguished him throughout. 

The esteem in which he was held gave 
him the county judgeship before he was 
twenty-six years old and reinvested him 
in it seven years later. Its functions he 
executed with exceeding efficiency and 
approbation. At the age of forty-three 
he entered the State Senate and, by three 
successive elections, served in that body 
four terms. For four of the eight years, 
the executive power was in Democratic 
hands — those of Seymour and Hoffman 
— the Republicans retaining control of 
both houses of the legislature for the 
major portion of the period. For the 
most part, Senator Folger was the leader 
of the Republican majority in the upper 
house ; and this by virtue of his forcible 
speech — sledge hammer blows at times — 
his knowledge of law, his accomplish- 
ments as a parliamentarian and, above all, 
by his sterling honesty. He was true to 
his political friends and formidable to 
their foes. He was "the watch-dog of 
the treasury," thoroughly conversant 
with the condition of the finances and 
riddling all measures calculated to impair 
them. He was a tower of strength for all 
Acts enhancing the honor and welfare of 
the State. His character conquered. 

When he left the Senate, with tower- 
ing reputation as a legislator and jurist, 
there was no position in the gift of the 
people that he might not legitimately 
aspire to and none which would not 
have been freely accorded him. He 
served temporarily as United States sub- 
treasurer, a position of great responsi- 
bility, for which his financial ability 
efiuijijied him. It is an open secret that 



190 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



his own ambition inclined to the guber- 
natorial preferment; but, a judicial can- 
vass intervening, he accepted the nomi- 
nation for associate judge of the Court of 
Appeals tendered him by the Republican 
party in the spring of 1870. The law pro- 
vided for the election of a chief judge and 
six associates, four from the majority and 
two from the minority party. In conso- 
nance n ith this, at a special election in 
April the Democrats returned the chief- 
judge and four associates, and the Re- 
publicans two, Mr. Folger leading the 
Republ'can ticl:et. He took his seat, May 
seventeenth, becoming chief justice ten 
years later and assuming high rank in an 
especially eminent bench, which included 
Church, Allen, Grover, Peckham, Rapallo. 
Earl, Andrews, Danforth and Finch. 

His resignation, November 14, 18S1, 
was coincident with his entrance into 
.Arthur's cabinet, at the President's most 
earnest solicitation — again a recognition 
of his superb capacity as a financier. 
Following this is the sad incident of his 
life — his defeat for governor in 1882. 
Full details of this deplorable event 
would involve a history of the fierce and 
unfortunate warfare between the Re- 
publican factions of the State — common- 
ly known as "Stalwarts" and "Half- 
P>reeds." The moment was a crucial one 
in the conflict. The President, ex neces- 
sitate, the leader of the Stalwarts, after 
Conkling's downfall, over-persuaded the 
secretary to accept the gubernatorial 
nomination, which he did reluctantly, suc- 
ceeding a bitter canvass in the State 
convention against the renomination of 
Governor Cornell. The outcome, at- 
tributed to undue interference in State 
politics by the President, coupled with a 
forged proxy, substituting a noxious 
partisan of the Stalwart stripe for a Half- 
Breed on the State Committee, caused a 
wide-spread defection among Republi- 
cans, the independent "Mugwumps" ally- 



ing themselves therewith ; and the Re- 
publican ticket was overwhelmingly de- 
feated. But it is to be emphasized that it 
was also a moral triumph for Charles 
James Folger. He was unscathed by the 
fiery ordeal through which he was called 
to pass Never did the purity and nobility 
of his character appear in bolder relief. 
Not a shaft of detraction or invective was 
hurled at him. He was a sacrificial offer- 
ing to the spirit of faction. He came 
forth more admired and beloved than he 
had ever been. He was, indeed, grieved 
to the heart's core by the cruel stroke; 
and thence his health visibly declined. 
But he continued manfully to discharge 
his duties as Secretary of the Treasury 
until the end, dying at his home in 
Geneva, September 4, 1884. 

Judge Folger married Susan Rebecca 
Worth, June 17, 1844. She died October 
3, 1877. Three children were born t'j 
them — Jane Guitskell, Charles Worth {.'\. 
1!. Williams, 1868; died 1885 1 and Susan 
Worth. Judge Folger was a trustee of 
Cornell University, 1865-73, and of Wells 
College, 1864, until his death. The "C. J. 
Folger Alcove" in the library at Hobart, 
endowed by his daughter Susan, is named 
in his honor. There is a biography of 
him (portrait) in "Green Bag," vol. i. See 
also "Annals of the Civil Government of 
the United States," and address before 
the Phi Beta Kappa, New York Zeta 
(Hobart) by the Hon. Charles Andrews, 
June, 1885. ' 



ANTHONY, Susan Brownell, 

Reformer. 

This remarkable woman whose chief 
renown rests upon her championship of 
ib.e cause of "woman's rights" was born 
in South Adams, Massachusetts, Febru- 
ary 15, 1820; daughter of Daniel and 
Lucy fRead) Anthony. Her father, who 
was a Quaker, removed his family from 



191 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Massachusetts to Washington county, 
New York, in 1826, where he engaged 
in the manufacture of cotton goods. His 
daughters were given a liberal education 
at a Friends' boarding school in West 
Philadelphia. 

In 1835, Susan B. Anthony began to 
teach school in New York State and con- 
tinued successfully in that vocation until 
1850. She was. however, a born reformer 
or, if a closer definition be preferred, an 
agitator for what she regarded as reform ; 
and, courageous and militant, essayed in 
1849 to speak in public in behalf the 
temperance cause in which she was deep- 
ly interested. In 1851, being refused the 
floor in a temperance convention, on 
account of her sex, she called a conven- 
tion at Albany of women to discuss the 
issue; and in 1852 was mainly instrumen- 
tal in organizing the Woman's New 
York State Temperance Society. Her 
first notable public address was made at 
a meeting of the New York Teachers' 
Association in 1853; it consisted of but 
few sentences, and was an act of unparal- 
leled audacity at that day, but her attitude 
wrought a change in the standing of 
women teachers in future conventions. 
From that time they began to participate 
in the discussions, and to vote, and have 
a voice in matters pertaining to the pro- 
fession in which they are so largely in the 
majority. 

She soon, however, became convinced 
that the ballot would give to women more 
power to combat intemperance and other 
evils than any arguments that she could 
wield ; she therefore became a woman 
sufifragist, and for more than forty years 
worked steadily for that cause. Her re- 
markable executive ability, her logical 
reasoning, and her simple, direct, and 
pertinent aptitude of expression, soon 
gave her national prominence as an advo- 
cate of woman's rights. Her activities 
in this regard were multifarious, assidu- 



ous and incessant — in the press when she 
could get a hearing, in travels nation 
wide, in speeches in city halls and at 
rural cross-roads, in conventions and at 
legislative hearings. She was unwearied 
and seemingly omnipresent throughout. 
But a few in the long list of her labors 
may here be mentioned. She was a 
member of the first Woman's Rights 
Convention in Seneca Falls in 1848. So 
early as 1867 she organized and carried 
on a campaign in Kansas for woman 
suffrage, and, for many years was the 
secretary and executive of many asso- 
ciations for its promotion. In 1868, in 
connection with Mrs. Stanton, George 
Francis Train, Daniel M. Mellis and 
Parker Pillsbury, she began to publish 
in New York the "Revolution," a journal 
devoted to the promulgation of woman's 
rights doctrines, that existed but two 
years, leaving her with heavy debts, 
which she cancelled in 1876 from the 
proceeds of her lectures. In 1872 she was 
arrested for illegally voting at Rochester, 
New York, and was fined one hundred 
dollars, which fine she, according to her 
declaration made to the judge, "would 
never pay," and it never was paid. From 
1869 she spoke before committees of the 
United States Senate and of the House 
of Representatives of every Congress; 
and after 1882, largely as a result of her 
efforts, there was a special committee on 
woman suffrage in the United States 
Senate, with a committee room for its 
exclusive use. Her canvass before the 
New York Constitutional Convention in 
1894 was especially energetic. In 1892 
she was elected president of the Na- 
tional American Woman Suffrage Asso- 
ciation, and still held the office until 
1905, when she was made honorary presi- 
dent. To her is largely due the extension 
of the right of suffrage to women on 
educational questions and in municipal 
affairs in various States, and their com- 



192 




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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



plete enfranchisement in Wyoming, 
Colorado, Utah, Idaho, California, and 
Washington. In July, 1899, she was a 
delegate at London, England, to the 
International Congress of Women, and 
was presented to Queen Victoria by 
Lady Aberdeen. She was joint author 
with Elizabeth Cady Stanton of "The 
History of Woman Suffrage" (three 
volumes), and with Mrs. Ida Rusted 
Harper of the fourth volume of the same 
work. It were but a narrow review to 
describe Susan B. Anthony as a suflfragist 
solely. She was prominent in many re- 
forms, not alone for those enhancing the 
weal of her sex, but for humanity as well. 
Her work for temperance has been already 
alluded to. She was an ardent Abolition- 
ist, and in conjunction with her friend 
and co-worker, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, 
rendered great assistance to the Abolition 
party during the anti-slavery agitation. 
They obtained hundreds of thousands of 
signatures to petitions beseeching Con- 
gress to abolish slavery as a war measure. 
"Send petitions ; they furnish the only 
background for my demands," said 
Charles Sumner to Miss Anthony. Her 
efforts largely contributed to the passage 
of an act of the New York Legislature 
giving to married women the guardian- 
ship of their children, and the control ot 
their own earnings, and to the enactment 
of all measures for equalizing the prop- 
erty rights of women with those of men 
in the initiative of which New York led 
the way. She was particularly influential 
in the movement for co-education, her 
main achievement therefor being its 
adoption by the University of Rochester 
after a campaign involving the conversion 
of the trustees and the raising of a con- 
siderable endowment for its support. 

In conclusion, one revelation associated 
with Miss Anthony's career is to be dis- 
tinctly emphasized, and that the utter 
change occurring in public opinion as to 
N Y-Voi 1-13 193 



her quality. It began in derision; it 
closed with general regard and even 
veneration. No one has been sneered at 
more than was she at the first. Enmity 
to the cause was accentuated by ridicule 
of her person ; but her sincerity, earnest- 
ness and power subdued cavillings and 
compelled respect. She was recognized 
as a great woman. She was withal a 
true woman, competent in household 
affairs, helpful in neighborly offices, win- 
ning in demeanor, with fine conversa- 
tional gifts. She made home attractive 
and dispensed a gracious hospitality. 
Where she was most intimately known 
she was most admired and loved. 
Rochester was proud of its most eminent 
citizen. She was energy incarnate to the 
last ; but, after a short and sudden illness, 
died in her Rochester home, March 13, 
1906. There is a tablet in her honor 
among the effigies and statues of the dis- 
tinguished dead that line the grand stair- 
case of the capitol at Albany. 



BRYANT, William CuUen, 

Journalist, Poet, Prolific Writer. 

William Cullen Bryant was born in 
Cummington, Massachusetts, November 
3, 1794, son of Peter and Sarah (Snell) 
Bryant, grandson of Philip and Silence 
(Howard) Bryant, great-grandson of 
Ichabod Bryant, and great-great-grand- 
son of Stephen and Abigail (Shaw) 
Bryant, who came from England and set- 
tled in Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1632. 

William Cullen Bryant was the second 
child in a family of seven, and is de- 
scribed as being "puny and very delicate 
in body, and of a painfully delicate 
nervous temperament." At the age of 
four years he was sent to the district 
school, where he obtained elementary in- 
struction until his twelfth year. He early 
began to rhyme, and wrote a poem in his 
eleventh year, which he recited at the 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



closing of the winter school. In 1808 he 
was sent to Brookfield to perfect himself 
in Latin under the tuition of his uncle, 
the Rev. Thomas Snell, and in 1809 pur- 
sued the study of Greek with the Rev. 
Moses Hallock, of Plainfield. About this 
time he began to read Pope's translation 
of the Iliad, a delightful transition from 
Dr. Watts' hymns, and it is not supris- 
ing that his first serious efiforts were some 
enigmas written after the manner of this 
favorite poet. In 1809 he wrote, and his 
father had published in pamphlet form, 
a poem entitled, "The Embargo, or 
Sketches of the Times," a Federalist 
satire attacking President Jefferson, then 
very unpopular because of the enforce- 
ment of the embargo laid upon the ports 
of the republic. He entered Williams 
College, October 9, 1810, and before the 
close of the first year asked for an honor- 
able dismissal, desiring to enter Yale. 
His father's financial position forbade the 
completion of a college course, and he 
studied law at Worthington and after- 
wards at Bridgewater, was admitted to 
the bar in 1815, began the practice of his 
profession at Plainfield, Massachusetts, 
and had been there nearly a year when 
he entered into partnership with a young 
lawyer of Great Harrington, Massachu- 
setts. He purchased his partner's inter- 
est at the close of the year, and continued 
practice alone, getting himself described 
as "an active, learned and rather fiery 
young lawyer." In 1817 the poem 
"Thanatopsis" was published in the Sep- 
tember number of the "North American 
Review." It had been written six years 
before, shortly after Bryant left college, 
when he had not attained his eighteenth 
year; in the same number of the "Re- 
view" appeared also, under the title of a 
"Fragment," what is now known as "An 
Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood." 
The publication of these exquisite poems 
at that time was due to what might be 



termed an accident of fortune. In June 
of 1817 Willard Phillips, an old Hamp- 
shire friend of the Bryant family, then 
an associate editor of the "North Amer- 
ican Review," wrote to Dr. Bryant his 
desire that William Cullen should con- 
tribute to it, then in its infancy. Dr. 
Bryant wrote to his son advising him to 
accept the offer, but chancing to look 
through a desk which the young poet had 
been in the habit of using, he found the 
manuscripts of these incomparable poems, 
and hastened with them to Boston. So 
instant was the appreciation of his muse 
on the publication of these lines, that he 
was invited to become a regular contrib- 
utor to the "Review," to which in 1818 
he sent a paper on "Early American 
Poetry," and the poem "To a Water- 
fowl." The latter was inspired by an 
incident thus beautifully related by one 
of his biographers: "When he journeyed 
on foot over the hills to Plainfield, on the 
15th of December, 1816, to see what in- 
ducements it offered him to commence 
there the practice of the profession to 
which he had just been licensed, he says 
in one of his letters that he felt 'very for- 
lorn and desolate.' The world seemed to 
grow bigger and darker as he ascended, 
and his future more uncertain and desper- 
ate. The sun had already set, leaving be- 
hind it one of those brilliant seas of 
chrysolite and opal which often flood the 
New England skies, and, while pausing 
to contemplate the rosy splendor, with 
rajit admiration, a solitary bird made its 
way along the illuminated horizon. He 
watched the lone wanderer until it was 
lost in the distance. He then went on 
with new strength and courage. When 
he reached the house where he was to 
stop for the night, he immediately sat 
down and wrote the lines 'To a Water- 
fowl.' " 

In 1818 he was elected one of the 
tithingmen and town clerk of Great Bar- 



194 



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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



rington, holding the latter office until he 
left Massachusetts five years later. He 
was also appointed a justice of the peace. 
He was married, June ii, 1821, to Fanny 
Fairchild, with whom he passed forty- 
five years of happy married life. In 182J 
he wrote the poem, "The Ages," which 
he read before the Phi Beta Kappa Soci- 
ety of Irlarvard College. He was urged 
to publish it, and from the suggestion 
resulted the first publication of a collec- 
tion of Bryant's poems, a small volume 
consisting of the eight poems : "The 
Ages," "To a Waterfowl," "Fragment 
from Simonides," "An Inscription for the 
Entrance to a Wood," "The Yellow Vio- 
let," "The Song," "Green River," and 
"Thanatopsis,' which appeared in 1823. 
In 1824 he became a contributor to the 
"United States Literary Gazette," and 
wrote many of his most charming poems 
for its pages. About this time also were 
written "The Death of the Flowers" and 
"The Past," for each of which he asked 
two dollars, "with which remuneration," 
he wrote, he should be "abundantly satis- 
f.ed." His publishers, however, made 
him a more generous proposition, sug- 
gesting a yearly salary of $200 for an 
average of one hundred lines a month, 
expressing their regrets that they were 
"unable to offer a compensation more 
adequate." In 1824 Mr. Bryant removed 
to New York, and assumed the editor- 
ship of the "New York Review and 
Athenaeum Magazine." He delivered a 
course of lectures on English poetry be- 
fore the Athenaeum Society, and in the 
same year accepted a professorship con- 
nected with the New York Academy of 
Design, where he lectured on Greek and 
Roman mythology. In July, 1826, the 
"Review" was amalgamated with the 
"United States Gazette" of Boston, under 
the title of the "United States Review," 
Mr. Bryant being the New York editor, 
and T. G. Carter the Boston editor. In 



1827-28-29 Mr. Bryant was associated 
with Verplanck and Robert C. Sands in 
the publication of an annual entitled "The 
Talisman," and in 1833, in conjunction 
with Mr. Sands, issued two volumes en- 
titled, "Tales of the Glauber Spa." In 
this year also was published a complete 
collection of his poems, which was repub- 
lished in England, and won him Euro- 
pean reputation. In 1836 he accepted an 
editorial chair on the "New York Even- 
ing Post," and acquired a small interest 
on the paper ; five months later on the 
death of Mr. Coleman, the editor-in-chief 
and proprietor, Mr. Bryant was promoted 
to the chief editorial chair, and purchased 
a further interest in the property. Mr. 
Bryant's course as a journalist was dig- 
nified and consistent; he accepted no 
favors from individuals or parties, and 
was fearless in opposing popular meas- 
ures and questions when he esteemed it 
essential to the public interest to do so. 
He was at the inception of his journalistic 
career a Democrat in principle, but before 
the war became a strong Republican. 
"The Evening Post," which had been 
chiefly occupied with matters of local in- 
terest, sanitary and fiscal reforms, and the 
like, under Mr. Bryant's leadership be- 
came an advocate of free trade principles 
at a time when protective duties were 
favored by both houses of Congress and 
by the north generally. In 1836 he main- 
tained in the columns of "The Post" the 
validity of trade unions ; he favored in- 
ternational copyright, the abolition of 
capital punishment, supported President 
Jackson in his most drastic measures, 
and the tariflf of '46, a tarifif for revenue 
with incidental protection ; opposed slav- 
ery as "a foul and monstrous idol, a jug- 
gernaut under which thousands arc 
crushed to death," and suggested the 
fullest and freest emancipation as the 
only fit remedy for the evil. He was con- 
scientious and impartial in the statement 



195 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRArHY 



of facts, and temperate in debate. Solici- 
tous for honor as a man of letters, his 
carefully prepared and finely phrased edi- 
torials, and his rules imposed upon sub- 
ordinates, for the use of pure Saxon Eng- 
lish, materially elevated the literary tone 
of journalism. 

In 185 1 he published a short history of 
the "Evening Post," then half a century 
old, and he terminated his editorial labors 
in 1870. George William Curtis wrote of 
him : "What nature said to him was 
plainly spoken and clearly heard and per- 
fectly repeated. His art was exquisite. 
It was absolutely unsuspected, but it 
served its truest purpose, for it removed 
every obstruction to full and complete 
delivery of his message." From 1834 to 
1867 Mr. Bryant made six visits to the 
Old World, and in 1872 visited Cuba and 
the City of Mexico for the second time. 
In 1850 he published "Letters of a Trav- 
eller," a collection of the letters he had 
sent to "The Post" during his travels 
abroad, and in the winter of 1869 he 
issued a supplementary volume entitled, 
"Letters from the East." Mr. Bryant was 
unexcelled in the art of pronouncing eulo- 
gies, and was often called upon to per- 
form this office. In 1872 a volume was 
published embodying the chief of these 
orations, notably those doing honor to 
Gulian C. Verplanck, Thomas Cole, the 
painter; Fenimore Cooper, Washington 
Irving, Fitz-Greene Halleck, and those 
made at the unveiling of the Shakespeare, 
Scott and Morse statues in Central Park. 
In 1866, seeking relief from the deep 
grief that had befallen him in the death 
of his wife in 1865, he began the trans- 
lation of the "Iliad," and the first twelve 
books were published in 1870. It was 
followed by a translation of the Odys- 
sey," which was completed in 1871. The 
work had an immediate success, the sales 
of the "Iliad" up to 1888 reaching 17,000, 



the sales of the Odyssey 10,244 copies. 
Many American editions of Mr. Bryant's 
poems were issued. Of that known as 
lhe Red Line, 5,000 copies were sold in 
1870, and the beautifully illustrated edi- 
tion of 1877 met with a very cordial wel- 
come, as did the latter one of his complete 
works in 1884. 

In 1858 Mr. Bryant was elected a re- 
gent of the University of the State of 
New York, but declined to serve. He was 
very chary of accepting public honors, 
and refused all such as he consistently 
might; some few, however, he could not 
escape. He received the degree of Mas- 
ter of Arts from Williams in 1863 and 
was enrolled in its general catalogue as 
an alumnus ; LL. D. from Union, 1853, 
and Princeton, 1873: L. H. D. from the 
University of the State of New York, 
1870. In 1873 he was made an honor- 
ary member of the Imperial Academy of 
Science at St. Petersburg. He was one of 
the founders of the Century Association 
in New York, and his seventieth birthday 
was made the occasion of a festival by 
the club, in which the notable artists and 
poets of America participated with gifts 
of paintings and poems. The congratu- 
latory address on this occasion was de- 
livered by George Bancroft, the historian, 
and speeches were made by R. W. Emer- 
son, R. H. Dana Jr., and William M. 
Evarts. Many delightful poems were 
read, written for the occasion, by those 
who revered the man and admired the 
poet. On his eightieth birthday, in 1876, 
Mr. Bryant was presented with a memor- 
ial vase of silver, the carving of which 
symbolized his life. This magnificent 
work of art was presented to the vener- 
able poet in Chickering Hall, New York, 
on June 20, 1876, its permanent destina- 
tion being the Metropolitan Museum of 
Art. In this, his eighty-first year, Mr. 
Bryant wrote "The Flood of Years." His 



196 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



last poem, "The Twenty-second of Feb- 
ruary," was written to commemorate the 
birthday of Washington, in 1878. 

Mr. Bryant was essentially a domestic 
man ; home was to him a sacred place, 
where business cares were never allowed 
to obtrude. His letters from abroad to 
the persons in charge of his country 
houses. "Cedarmere," at Roslyn, Long 
Island, and the old homestead at Cum- 
mington, Massachusetts, show that he 
knew every tree and stone of both places. 
He divided the spring, summer and au- 
tumn months between Long Island and 
Cummington, and spent his winters in 
New York. On May 29, 1878, Mr. Bry- 
ant delivered the address at the unveiling 
of the statue of Mazzini in Central Park, 
and after the ceremony, upon reaching 
the house of a friend, he fell, and his head 
coming in contact with the stone step, he 
was rendered unconscious ; a few days 
later apoplexy ensued, and his illness 
proved mortal. There are many por- 
traits of Mr. Bryant extant, of which the 
ones he most preferred himself were 
those by Inman and Durand. See "Wil- 
liam Cullen Bryant," by John Bigelow 
(1890) ; "Goodwin's Life of Bryant" 
(1883) ; Wilson's "Bryant and His 
Friends" (1886). He died in New York 
City, June 12, 1878. and was buried at 
Roslyn, New York. 



HALLECK, Fitz-Greene, 

Poet. 

This gifted writer was born July 8, 1790, 
in Guilford, Connecticut, and was of New 
York ancestry. He was descended from 
Peter Halleck, one of twelve heads of 
English families, who in 1640 landed at 
New Haven, Connecticut, soon removing 
to Aquebogue, Long Island, where he 
purchased land from the Indians. Some 
of his descendants removed to Dutchess 
county. New York, where was born 



Israel, father of Fitz-Greene Halleck. 
During the Revolution, Israel Halleck 
was a loyalist, and served under Colonel 
Tarleton in various campaigns. His wife, 
Mary Eliot, was a lineal descendant of 
John Eliot, the "Apostle to the Indians;" 
she was a woman of superior intellect, 
and an industrious reader, having a pecu- 
liar fondness for poetry. 

Fitz-Greene Halleck, when two years 
old, lost the use of his left ear by the dis- 
charge of a gun close to his head, on 
"training day." From his early youth he 
was noted as precocious, and as giving 
evidence of his mother's taste for litera- 
ture. When only seven years old, he 
attracted attention at school by his dec- 
lamation on exhibition day, and he took 
to rhyming when he first began to use 
pen or pencil ; even then. Campbell's 
verse had a fascination for him. /\fter 
completing his studies in the village 
school, he went to live with a relative at 
Guilford, Connecticut — Andrew Eliot, 
with whom he remained six years, clerk- 
ing in his store. In 1808 he joined the 
Connecticut militia ; in which he served 
as sergeant. In the following winter he 
oi)ened an evening school, and gave in- 
struction in writing, arithmetic and book- 
keeping, and out of his earnings pur- 
chased such works as Campbell's, Burns', 
and "The Spectator." It was about this 
time that his first verse appeared anony- 
mously in a New Haven newspaper — sup- 
posed to be written near the grave of an 
Indian warrior killed by an enemy while 
he was hunting in Canada. This was fol- 
lowed by a piece of verse addressed to 
a youth, entitled "The world is l)right 
before thee,"- which appeared anony- 
mously in the New York "Evening Post," 
then under the editorial charge of Wil- 
liam T. Coleman ; this is the earliest of 
his productions which Halleck incorpor- 
ated into the editions of his works pub- 
lished in his lifetime. 



197 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



In May, 1811, Halleck went to New 
York City, but, unable to secure clerical 
employment, he was about to go to Rich- 
mond, Virginia, when he made the ac- 
quaintance of Jacob Barker, a prominent 
New York banker, who made a place for 
him in his counting room, and the con- 
nection thus begun continued for about 
twenty years. Meantime he was also a 
partner with a kinsman of Mr. Barker in 
a commission business, but the firm failed 
in the general financial disaster which 
attended the second war with Great 
Britain. 

In the Christmas week of 1813, Hal- 
leck's first poem published in New York, 
appeared anonymously in "The Colum- 
bian." He shortly afterward joined the 
"Iron Grays,"' a company of one hundred 
and twelve of the choicest young men of 
New York City, and which was mustered 
into the service of the United States for 
sea duty on the Atlantic coast, but which 
was never actually engaged. It was 
about this time that Halleck and Joseph 
Rodman Drake formed that tender friend- 
ship which made so delightful an episode 
in their lives. In 1819 they entered upon 
their notable work — the amusing series 
of verses known as "The Croaker Papers," 



• poem that ten dollars was frequently paid 
for a copy, the original price of which 
was fifty cents. 

In July, 1822, the poet visited England, 
Scotland and Ireland, being everywhere 
cordially received, and later made a tour 
of the continent. It was while he was 
thus away from home that he wrote two 
of his finest poems — "Alnwick Castle" 
and "Burns;" the former was an especial 
favorite with Samuel Rogers, the poet, 
who frequently read it at his famous 
breakfast parties: while his "Burns" was 
particularly admired in England and 
Scotland, and a framed copy of it was 
hung in the principal room of the house 
in which the Scottish bard was born. 
After returning home, his "Marco Boz- 
zaris" was published in the New York 
"Review" — a production which had an 
unexampled popularity, and which was 
recited by nearly every school boy in the 
land until within a few years when "ex- 
hibition day" was dispensed with. This 
stirring piece of verse was twice trans- 
lated into Greek. In 1827 Halleck brought 
out an edition of his poems anonymously. 
In 1832 he prepared for a New York pub- 
lisher an octavo edition of Lord Byron's 
works, and for which he wrote a sketch 
published in the New York "Evening of the poet's life. In May of the same 



Post," Drake writing over the name of 
"Croaker," and Halleck over that of 
"Croaker, Jr.," while their joint works 
went over the name of "Croaker & Com- 
pany." These humorous papers were 
"the talk of the town," and so popular 
that they had various imitations, but no 
equals. In the same year in which he 
appeared in the "Croaker Papers," Plal- 
leck produced his lengthy poem, "Fanny," 



year he found employment in the count- 
ing house of John Jacob Astor, and in 
which he continued until 1849. In 1833 
he wrote a "Memoir of DeWitt Clinton," 
at the request of the Clinton family. In 
1837 his "Fanny"' was published in Lon- 
don. In 1839 Harper Brothers brought 
out an edition of his works which was 
the first to carry his name upon the title 
page ; and in the same year the same 



which attained such a popularity that he house published an admirable selection 



was offered -$500 for an additional stanza, 
which he produced, and in 1821 another 
edition was published, with fifty stanzas 
additional. Before the appearance of the 
latter, there was such a demand for the 



from the British poets, edited by Halleck. 
In 1852 twenty-five stanzas of Halleck's 
poem "Connecticut" appeared in the 
"Knickerbocker Magazine ;" in June of 
the same year, Redfield published a new 



198 





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t C^l' ^x> 



EiXCYCLOrEDlA OF BIOGRAPHY 



edition of his poems; and in 1858 this 
was succeeded by an edition from the 
press of D. Appleton & Company. The 
latter had an immense sale, and one thou- 
sand copies were purchased for school 
district libraries by a single western state. 
It is said that the poet's labors brought 
him only $17,500 in all. 

Having received an annuity of $200, 
which was supplemented by a gift of 
$10,000 from William B. Astor, Halleck 
took up his residence at his native place 
— Guilford, Connecticut — where he passed 
the evening of his life in leisurely literary 
labors, and occasionally visiting New 
York City. He died at his home, Novem- 
ber 9, 1867. On the eightieth anniversary 
of his birth (July 8, 1870), a noble granite 
monument to his memory was unveiled 
in Alderbrook Cemetery, Guilford, Con- 
necticut, the means for its erection being 
contributed by his admirers throughout 
the country, among whom were num- 
bered William C. Bryant, Henry W. 
Longfellow, John G. Whittier, Charles 
Sumner, and many other leaders in let- 
ters. On that occasion, an address was 
delivered by Bayard Taylor, and a poem 
was written for it by Oliver Wendell 
Holmes. The monument is said to have 
been the first raised to an American poet. 
In May, 1877, a full length bronze statue 
of Halleck was unveiled in Central Park, 
New York City, among those present be- 
ing President Hayes, his cabinet, and dis- 
tinguished army and naval officers, and 
leading citizens, escorted by the famous 
New York Seventh Regiment. The stand- 
ard life of Halleck was by James Grant 
Wilson, and was published in 1869. 



EVARTS, William M., 

Iiaxpyer, Orator, Statesman. 

William Maxwell Evarts, whose name 
suggests the indebtedness of New York 
to New England for the great men the 



one has furnished the other, many in- 
stances of which are cited in these 
sketches and upon which a volume might 
be written, was born in Boston, February 
6, 1818. He traced his lineage to the early 
settlers in the Puritan provinces from the 
"mother country." The home of his fam- 
ily was for generations in Guilford, Con- 
necticut, whence his grandfather, James, 
moved to Sunderland, Vermont. His son, 
Jeremiah, was a man of marked ability 
and sterling character who, after his 
graduation from Yale College and a brief 
practice at the bar in New Haven, located 
in Charlestown, Massachusetts, as the 
editor of "The Panoplist," an orthodox 
Congregational paper, active in the effort 
to stem the rising tide of Unitarianism. 
As editor and also as treasurer and sec- 
retary of the "American Board of Com- 
missioners for Foreign Missions" his life 
was devoted to spiritual and philanthropic 
labors. On his mother's side also, Wil- 
liam's heritage was most honorable. She 
was Mchetal)el, the daughter of Roger 
Sherman, a foremost statesman of the 
Revolution, with the proud distinction of 
signing the four famous State papers of 
his time — the Association of 1774, the 
Declaration of Independence, the Articles 
of Confederation and the United States 
Constitution. She was the widow of 
Daniel Barnes, a West Indian merchant, 
when she was married to Jeremiah 
Evarts, in 1804. Of the five children of 
the couple, William M. was the youngest. 
His preparatory education was pursued 
at the Boston Latin School and, in the 
fall of 1833, he entered Yale, one of the 
"famous class of '37," which included 
Chief-Justice W^aite, Minister Pierrepont, 
Professor Silliman and Governor Tilden. 
He was graduated, the third honor man 
of this exceptionally bright class. He 
was particularly distinguished for his 
talent as a writer and debater, prominent 



199 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in the "Linonian," the first editor of the to detail the multiplicity of important 
"Yale Literary Magazine" and was one of cases in which Evarts was engaged and 



the founders of the "Skull and Bones" 
fraternity. He was popular with his 
mates, easily making friends by his cheery 
mien and helpful offices, and even then 
betraying the subtle wit and apt repartee 
for which he was noted in the after years. 
The year following his graduation was 
spent in teaching school and reading law 
in Windsor, Vermont (subsequently his 
beautiful summer home). He further 
pursued his legal studies in the Dane Law 
School of Harvard University, was duly 
admitted to the bar and, in 1839, entered 



in which he had the lion's share of labor 
and renown ; but there are several either 
of constitutional interpretation, or inter- 
national judicature, of grave significance 
and world-wide fame to which reference 
should be made. The first of these is 
known as the "Lemmon Slave Case." The 
facts are these : One Lemmon and his 
wife, citizens of Virginia, in 1852, having 
with a number of colored persons, their 
slaves by Virginia law, stopped in New 
York cii route from a Virginian to a Texan 



the office of Daniel Lord, then the fore- Port, pending their transference from one 
most commercial lawyer of the metrop- steamer to another, the slaves meanwhile 
olis. Mr. Lord took a deep interest in being confined in a house in the city. A 
the progress of his student, who ever writ of habeas corpus was granted to in- 
referred to him affectionately as "my mas- quire into the cause of their detention and 
ter, my guide and friend." Evarts re- tlie lower court sustained the writ, thus 



mained about three years in the Lord 
office, rapidly appreciating in professional 
reputation and public esteem and, in 1842 
associated himself with Charles E. Butler, 
the firm being styled Butler & Evarts. 
The continuous career of this parent firm 
and its successors, all of which bore Mr. 
Evarts's name as a partner, under the 



freeing the slaves. So pregnant was the 
issue that upon appeal to the Court of 
Appeals, the sovereign States of Virginia 
and New York appeared as parties to the 
suit, Charles O'Conor being retained as 
chief counsel by the one and William M. 
Evarts by the other. At the hearing, de- 
layed until January 24, i860, the nature 



varying titles of Butler, Evarts & South- of the contest and the fame of the con- 

mayd, for seven years, Evarts & South- testants arrested public attention to an 

mayd for an interval of five months, unusual degree and attracted a large and 

Evarts, Southmayd & Choate, for twenty- distinguished audience. Both jurists were 

five years and Evarts, Choate & Beaman at their best, the postulate of O'Conor be- 

for sixteen years, has passed into the ing that "our Federal systems of govern- 

history of the profession in New York ment cannot long exist without both a 

with a record surpassing that of any com- judicial and popular recognition of the 

bination of legal lights in the State or legal universality of slavery throughout 

nation, with Evarts, for a long period, the country ; Evarts maintaining the prin- 

recognizcd as the leader of his profession, ciple that, consonant with Great Britain's 

Charles O'Conor being his chief competi- apothegm that he who treads her soil is 



tion in the realm of pure law, but Evarts 
excelling in all departments — "an all 
around lawyer," of which so few, in the 
differentiation of the profession, remain 
illustrious in our day. 

It were impossible in this brief sketch 



per sc a free man, he, too, who breathes the 
air of a free commonwealth of the Union 
is a free man, independent of the shackles 
in which he may have been bound in an- 
other State. In this Evarts rose to exalted 
periods, declaring with prophetic ken that. 



200 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



If the safety and protection of this local domes- 
tic institution of slavery, in the communities 
where it is cherished, must ingraft upon our 
federal jurisprudence the doctrine that the Fed- 
eral Constitution, by its own vigor, plants upon 
the virgin soil of our common territories the 
growth of chattel slavery thus putting to an 
open shame the wisdom and the patriotism of 
its framers * * * if such folly and madness 
shall prevail, then, by possibility, a catastrophe 
may happen; this catastrophe will be, not the 
overthrow of the general and constituted lib- 
erties of this great Nation, not the subversion 
of our common government, but the destruction 
of this institution, local and limited, which will 
have provoked a contest with the great force ot 
liberty and justice, which it cannot maintain, and 
must yield to a conflict which it will, then, be too 
late to repress. 

Evarts triumphed. The court upheld 
the judgment ; the Civil War ended the 
case ; and it never reached the United 
States Supreme Court. Another case of 
great public interest in which he was en- 
gaged by the government was that of the 
"Sav^annah Privateers," being the trial of 
the captain and crew of the schooner 
"Savannah," a Southern privateer, on the 
charge of piracy. The fact of its ravages 
on the sea was undisputed, the defence 
being that they were immune of convic- 
tion by virtue of the letters of marque 
granted by President Davis of the Confed- 
erate States. Mr. Evarts's plea for the 
prosecution involved a discussion of the 
questions of the political status of the 
seceded States, their relation to the Fed- 
eral government, the right of secession 
and, indeed, the whole nature and frame- 
work of our government. His case was 
presented with vast learning and skill 
against the exculpatory plea as oflfered 
by the defense represented by Daniel 
Lord, James T. Brady and Algernon S. 
Sullivan. 

The three most celebrated as well as 
most momentous causes, with which Mr. 
Evarts's name is associated are, how- 
ever, those of the impeachment of 



President Johnson, the Geneva Arbitra- 
tion and the Electoral .Commission. In 
each of these, amid the brilliant array of 
lawyers participating, he must be regard- 
ed as the most prominent and persuasive, 
assuredly so in that first named, his appeal 
in which, against the passion of the mo- 
ment "arrayed with great force and learn- 
ing the argtiments upon the only serious 
question of law in the case — that arising 
from the tenure of office act ; and it held 
up to scornful condemnation and ridicule 
the trivial accusations which the man- 
agers had inserted as makeweights in the 
Articles of Impeachment ; it is not easy to 
think that it did not have its share in 
holding the wavering senators to their 
consciences in its majestic and impres- 
sive warning not to disregard their judi- 
cial oaths." ("Great American Lawyers." 
The John C. Winston Co., vol. vii., page 
229). 

Before the Electoral Commission, 
whose finding was unfortunate in that it 
was strictly on partisan lines and for- 
tunate in that it determined peacefully 
the presidential succession that otherwise 
might have been referred to the arbitra- 
ment of the sword. Mr. Evarts ujiheld 
earnestly the proposition that it was with- 
in the province of the Congress to con- 
stitute a commission vested with power 
to revise or reform the action of State 
officials in the performance of duties im- 
posed upon them and sanctioned wholly 
by State authority. He made the principal 
speech in the convention, which, as much 
as any other agency confirmed legally 
the title of General Hayes to the Presi- 
dency — a result acquiesced in by the 
sober, second thought of the American 
people. Much also is due to Evarts for 
his masterful argument, before the 
Geneva Arbitration tribunal, assertive of 
the validity of the claims of the United 
States for reparation occasioned by the 
losses suffered from the hostile conduct 



201 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of England during our Civil War. As a 
fellow lawyer said of it, "There is, per- 
haps, no finer exposition extant of the 
great rules of international comity regard- 
ing the duties of neutrals to belligerent 
nations," and to Evarts himselt Sir 
Roundell Palmer, the chief counsel of 
Great Britain paid this tribute : "He was 
keen, but high-minded * * * I could trust 
him implicitly where I had to deal with 
him alone * * * Altogether, he was a man 
of whom any country might well be 
proud." A private suit, but of overwhelm- 
ing public interest, owing to the tower- 
ing repute of the defendant — the Tilton- 
Beecher case — deserves emphasis even at 



In 1864, all the judges of the New York 
Court of Appeals united in a letter recom- 
mending him for appointment as Chief 
Justice of the United States Supreme 
Court, but it was accorded to Salmon P. 
Chase, by reason of the kindly heart and 
shrewd political ken of Abraham Lincoln ; 
and it is not at all clear that Evarts de- 
sired it at the time. He was a delegate- 
at-large to the New York Constitutional 
Convention of 1867 and was especially 
potent in the revision of the judiciary 
article, the only one which was ratified at 
the polls. He was attorney-general, in 
the closing days of Johnson's administra- 
tion ; and was premier in the cabinet of 



this date. In it the greatest lawyer of Hayes throughout. Doubtless a sense of 



the land (Evarts) rescued its greatest 
preacher (Beecher) from an adverse ver- 
dict. In the long trial, the labors of 
Evarts were prodigious. He was on the 
alert every moment. His legal knowledge 
was never more serviceable ; his percep- 
tions never more acute ; his speech never 
keyed to a loftier strain, nor his thrusts 
more telling. 

Mr. Evarts, with high ideals in and 
supreme consecration to his profession 
and with punctilious regard for the right- 
eous administration of the law, was pre- 
eminent for the refinement, courtesy and 
dignity of his bearing in court. His 
speech, akin in strength to that of Burke, 
nimble, if not so profuse, in wit as that of 
Sheridan and often as exalted as that of 
Chatham, enlightened courts and per- 
suaded juries for more than half a cen- 
tury. Engrossed in his profession, he 
was well advanced in years before he 
accepted official honors. As a youth he 
imbibed Whig principles, but, with the 
bulk of northern Whigs, attached himself 
to the Republican party upon its organ- 
ization. In 1863 and again in 1864, he 
was entrusted by President Lincoln with 
special and delicate missions to England. 



gratitude on the part of both these chief 
magistrates — certainly due him — combin- 
ed with his surpassing fitness prompted 
the proft'ers in each instance. Retiring 
from the cabinet in 1881, he spent the four 
succeeding years in the activities of his 
profession, entirely aloof from the fac- 
tional strife which well-nigh rended his 
party in this State ; but, in 1S85, he was 
chosen by it to the United States Senate 
in which he served a single term. It 
were superfluous to say that the same 
superb qualities which he displayed at the 
bar rendered him an accomplished admin- 
istrator of his departments, a brilliant 
debater and a sound and honorable 
statesman. Bidding adieu to public life 
in 1891, he died February 2, 1901, lack- 
ing four days of having completed the 
eighty-third year of his age. There is a 
splendid full length portrait in the cham- 
ber of the Court of Appeals and there are 
biographies in many legal publications. 

Mr. Evarts married, August 19, 1843. at 
Windsor, Vermont, Helen Wardner, 
daughter of Allen Wardner. He was sur- 
vived by three brilliant sons who became 
practicing lawyers : Allen Wardner (Yale, 
1869; Columbia. LL. B., 1871), resides in 



202 



EXCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



New York City; Sherman (Yale, 1881), 
New York; Maxwell (Yale, 1884), New 
York, died 1901. Another son, Prescott 
(Harvard, 1881), became an Episcopal 
clergyman. 



GRANGER, Francis, 

statesman, Cabinet Official. 

The Granger name has been an honor- 
able one in private and a distinguished 
one in public life for nearly three cen- 
turies. The forefather of the American 
family, Launcelot Granger, an English 
Puritan, landed in Massachusetts bay in 
1652 and, after spending some twenty 
years in Newburyport, settled perma- 
nently in Suffield, Connecticut. Gideon, 
the fourth in line from Launcelot, seems 
to have been the first representative of 
the family of prominence who fixed his 
residence in this State, and that after an 
eminent career in New England and at 
the national capital. He was born in Suf- 
field, July 19, 1767; was graduated from 
Yale College in 1787; studied law and 
rose to distinction in his profession , was 
of considerable means ; interested in 
State concerns, held various positions of 
trust; was largely instrumental in estab- 
lishing the common school fund of Con- 
necticut ; and in 1801 was invited by 
President Jefferson to a seat in his cabinet 
as postmaster-general. For thirteen years, 
he filled that honorable post with singular 
credit and did much to develop the postal 
system of the country in its earlier 
stages. His administration of the office 
continued through both of Jefferson's 
terms and the larger portion of Madison's. 
On his retirement from the cabinet in 
1814, he made his home in Canandaigua, 
whither his reputation had preceded him, 
and at once became one of its leading 
citizens. In 1820, he was elected to the 
State Senate and served therein two years. 
In that body he assumed a leading posi- 



tion and was of great assistance in pro- 
moting the system of internal improve- 
ments of which the Erie Canal was the 
most important feature. In 1821, he re- 
tired from public life and died, December 
31, 1822, at the age of fifty-five years, with 
a record of high ability and spotless in- 
tegrity, consecrated to the public weal. 

Francis Granger was the second son of 
Gideon, and was born in Suffield, Decem- 
ber I, 1792. He was graduated from Yale, 
with honor in 181 1, was admitted to the 
bar, but never actively engaged in the 
practice of his profession, and, going with 
his father to Canandaigua, soon became 
immersed in business and political affairs. 
He began his political life as a Repub- 
lican, but supported the administration of 
John Ouincy Adams and allied himself 
with the National Republican party. He 
had splendid physical and mental gifts 
which drew to him, from the first, friends 
and favor. While yet in early manhood 
he was of handsome and commanding 
person, courteous bearing and winning 
address and of goodly inherited estate. 
He was elected to the Assembly in 1826 
and re-elected in 1827-28-30 and 32. In 
this body, he showed himself possessed 
of sound judgment, persuasive speech and 
practical ability. His entrance into politics 
was nearly coincident with the rise of the 
Anti-Masonic furore, with Canandaigua, 
from which Morgan was abducted, as the 
storm-center. When the sentiment an- 
tagonistic to the Masonic order was 
resolved into a political party. Granger, 
from his residence, capacity and agreeable 
personality became, if not an active prop- 
agandist of its principles, its most avail- 
able candidate for preferment. In 1830, 
he presided over a national Anti-AIasonic 
convention, at Philadelphia, the proceed- 
ings of which were confined to measures 
adapted to the dissemination of its tenets 
antecedent to the nominations made, two 
years later. In the same year, he received 



203 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the Anti-Masonic nomination for gov- 
ernor ; but, after a spirited canvass, was 
beaten, the vote standing 128,842 for 
Throop and 120,361 for himself, he, how- 
ever, carrying Western New York by a 
stupendous majority. Two years later, he 
was again a gubernatorial nominee of the 
combined Anti-Masons and National Re- 
publicans, but was once more defeated, 
this time by William L. Marcy, the 
Democracy being then in the full flush 
of success. Both contests, however, re- 
vealed Granger's exceeding personal pop- 
ularity. 

When the Whig party, absorbent of the 
larger portions of the Anti-Masonic and 
the National Republican elements, came 
into being in 1834, Granger cordially en- 
listed in its behalf and was at once recog- 
nized as among its leaders nationally as 
well as State wise. He was strongly 
urged by many friends for the guberna- 
torial nomination, that year, but the de- 
mand of the young men of the party for 
Seward prevailed and he was put forward 
but to be defeated by Marcy. In 1836, 
when the Whig vote was divided between 
several candidates. Granger, as the nomi- 
nee for Vice-President on the Harrison 
ticket, received seventy-seven votes in the 
electoral colleges, the largest number 
accorded to any of the Whig nominees for 
that office and excelling by three the 
votes given to Harrison for President. 
Granger was then in Congress, having 
been elected a representative in 1835 and, 
by three successive re-elections he re- 
mained a member of that body from 1835 
until 1841. He served as such with con- 
sistent devotion to Whig principles and 
with marked ability and influence. He 
resigned his seat in Congress, with the 
incoming of the Harrison administration, 
to accept the office of postmaster-general, 
just forty years after his father had been 
called to the same cabinet position. 

After the untimely death of President 



Harrison, he continued for a time in 
Tyler's cabinet, but left it, with all of his 
associates, except Webster, upon its 
memorable dissolution, consequent upon 
the inability of the Whig party, under tne 
leadership of Clay, to maintain amicable 
relations with Tyler. Declining a foreign 
mission, which was tendered him, and a 
fifth nomination to Congress strongly 
urged upon him, as well as other invita- 
tions to official station, he still retained an 
interest in politics, quite actively so upon 
the occurrence of the rupture in the Whig 
party — this arising from the action of 
President Fillmore in signing the com- 
promise measures of 1850, including the 
fugitive slave law and the antagonism 
thereto of Senator Seward, Granger being 
a cordial support of the course of the 
president with whom he had always held 
the most intimate personal and political 
friendship, as he had, indeed, with Se- 
ward also, before the break was precipi- 
tated. The line of demarcation between 
the two sections — soon to become factions 
— of the party in the State was distinctly 
drawn at the momentous convention held 
in Syracuse, in the early fall of 1850, in 
which the adherents of Seward largely 
predominated. Granger was a delegate 
therein and, although his regard for the 
administration at Washington was well 
known, he was complimented with the 
presidency of the convention. Fie pre- 
sided with inpartiality and dignity ; but, 
upon the adoption of a resolution highly 
commendatory of Seward's senatorial 
course. Granger felt impelled to withdraw 
from the convention, descended from the 
chair and left the hall, with some thirty 
or forty delegates following him. The 
sight was most impressive — Granger, 
with his majestic bearing and flowing, 
whitened locks and yet with a trace of 
sadness in his eyes, leading the devoted 
band away from olden friends and thus 
inaugurating a faction within the party to 



204 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



be called the "Silver Grays" after his 
likeness ; the other faction to be known as 
"Woolly-Heads," distinctive of its anti- 
slavery proclivities. Granger's political 
sentiments were thereafter on conserva- 
tive lines. During the troubled winter of 
1860-61, his solicitude over the threaten- 
ings of disunion was profound and con- 
stant ; and he was induced to be a delegate 
to the so-called "Peace Convention" in 
Washington, early in 1861, in which he 
assumed a conspicuous and conciliatory 
attitude, without palpable effect ; for 
Sum.ter fell in April and the War between 
the States was on. He was a staunch 
supporter of the Union in the bloody con- 
flict that ensued. Rejoicing in the 
triumph of nationality, he passed his few 
declining days, loved and venerated, in 
his Canandaigua home, dying there peace- 
fully August 28, 1861, in the seventy- 
sixth year of his age. 

Francis Granger, son of Gideon Gran- 
ger, born December i, 1792, at Suffield, 
Connecticut, died August 31, 1868, at 
Canandaigua, New York. He was mar- 
ried, May 20, 1817, to Cornelia Rutsen 
Van Rensselaer, daughter of Jeremiah 
Van Rensselaer and Sybilla Adeline 
Kane, at Utica, New York. Mrs. Granger 
died at Canandaigua, December 29, 1823. 
Their children were: i. Cornelia Ade- 
laide, born September 13, 1819, died June 
16, 1892 ; married (first) John Eliot 
Thayer, (second) Robert C. Winthrop, 
both of Boston. 2. Gideon, born .'\ugust 
30, 1821, died September 3, 1868; married 
Isaphine Pierson, of Canandaigua. 



HALE, Nathan, 

Patriot Spy. 

Nathan Hale, whose heroic behavior 
and inspiring words on the scaffold have 
made his name the synonym for unflinch- 
ing patriotism, was born in Coventry, 
Connecticut, June 6, 1755, son of Deacon 



Richard and Elizabeth (Strong) Hale, 
grandson of Samuel and Apphia (Moody) 
Hale, great-grandson of the Rev. John 
(Harvard, 1657) and Sarah (Noyes) Hale, 
and great-great-grandson of Deacon Rob- 
ert Hale, who came to Massachusetts 
from Hertfordshire, England, in 1632, was 
among those set off from the first church 
in Boston to form the first church in 
Charlestown in 1632, and was appointed 
surveyor of new plantations by the gen- 
eral court, serving until his death in 1659. 
Nathan Hale was educated for the min- 
istry, but after graduating from Yale Col- 
lege in 1773 and teaching for two years, 
while continuing his studies, the news of 
the battle of Lexington fired his patriotic 
spirit and he addressed a public meeting 
called to gain a knowledge of public sen- 
timent, and in the course of his remarks 
he said: "Let us march immediately, and 
never lay down our arms until we have 
gained our independence." When the 
speaking was over, he was among the 
first to enroll as a volunteer in the patriot 
cause. He was soon promoted to lieuten- 
ant in the regiment of Colonel Charles 
Webb, marched to Boston, and was an 
active participant in the siege of that city. 
He was promoted to captain by brevet for 
gallantry in January, 1776. He restored 
order in his company by dividing among 
them his pay, in order to secure their 
service for a month longer, was appointed 
to the Nineteenth Continental Regiment 
of Foot, and when Boston was evacuated, 
March 17, 1776, he accompanied Wash- 
ington's army to New York and took part 
in the battle of Long Island. While 
there, with a boat's crew of picked men, 
he defied the British man-of-war "Asia," 
under her guns, boarded a sloop loaded 
with provisions, secured the crew, and 
brought the vessel and cargo to shore, dis- 
tributing the food among his famished 
companions. He was made captain of 



205 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



"Congress's Own," a company of Connec- 
ticut rangers made up of picked men, and 
with which he took part in scouting duty. 
Learning that Washington had an impor- 
tant service for which he asked for volun- 
teers, he was directed to the commander- 
in-chief at the house of Robert Murray, 
a Quaker merchant, on Murray HilL 
Here he was entrusted witli a secret mis- 
sion on which he volunteered despite the 
efforts of his friends to dissuade him. His 
reply to their warnings was : "Gentlemen, 
I owe to my country the accomplishment 
of an object so important and so much de- 
sired by the commander of our armies. I 
know no mode of obtaining the informa- 
tion but by assuming a disguise and pass- 
ing into the enemy's camp. I am fully 
sensible of the consequences of discovery 
and capture in such a situation. I wish 
to be useful, and every kind of service 
necessary for the public good becomes 
honorable by being necessary." He vis- 
ited the British camp on Long Island, dis- 
guised as a Tory school teacher, obtained 
drawings of the fortifications, and retired 
across the island to Huntington, on the 
north shore, expecting there a boat to 
ferry him to Norwalk, Connecticut, when 
he was captured, carried to the "Ilalifax," 
a British guardship, and taken before 
General William Howe, at the residence 
of Jam.es Beekman, at Mount Pleasant, 
New York City, on the East river. The 
information he had gained was concealed 
between the soles of his shoes, and when 
it was secured he was condemned as a 
spy and sentenced to be hanged the next 
morning. Committed to the care of the 
British provost marshal, William Cun- 
ningham, he was confined in the green- 
house of the Beekman mansion in New 
York. He was denied the attendance of 
a minister, the privilege of the possession 
of a Eil)le, or the assurance of the delivery 
of letters written to friends ; and his last 
messages of love to mother, sister and 



betrothed were destroyed before his eyes. 
On Sunday morning, September 22, 1776, 
he was taken to the apple orchard on the 
premises, and, with the fatal noose about 
his neck, he was directed to mount a short 
ladder and from this he spoke his last 
message to mankind : "I only regret that 
I have but one life to lose for my coun- 
try." His body was placed in an un- 
marked grave, and its location was never 
disclosed. A rude stone was set up be- 
side his father's grave in the Coventry 
churchyard, and in 1837 the Hale Monu- 
ment Association was organized, and a 
monument of Quincy granite was erected 
in 1846 at a cost of $3,734. The State of 
Connecticut erected a statue of Hale in 
the capitol grounds, Hartford, at a cost 
of $5,000, and the Sons of the Revolution 
commissioned the sculptor McMonnies to 
execute a statue in bronze which was 
erected in City Hall Park, New York 
City, and unveiled November 25, 1893. 
The place of his execution is located by 
the best authorities at the junction of 
Market street and East Broadway, New 
York City, and the date was September 
22, 1776. 



ALLSTON, Theodosia Burr, 

Illfated Daughter of Aaron Burr. 

Theodosia Burr Allston, daughter of 
Vice-President Aaron Burr, was a woman 
of remarkable accomplishments and beau- 
ty of character, and her unknown fate is 
one of the pathetic events in American 
history. 

She was born in Albany, New York, in 
1783, daughter of Aaron and Theodosia 
(Provost) Burr. She was tenderly reared, 
her father directing his efforts to train 
her up to become something more than a 
"mere fashionable woman with all the 
attendant frivolity and vacuity of mind," 
and she is written of as the "most charm- 
ing and accomplished woman of her day." 



206 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



She was the mistress of her father's house 
in Washington when only eleven years 
old, at a time when he was at the zenith 
of his political popularity. She returned 
with him to their New York home, and 
on February 2. 1801, after he had been 
elected vice-president of the United 
States, she, in her eighteenth year, was 
married to Joseph Allston, a wealthy 
young planter of South Carolina, son of 
William Allston, and a relative of Wash- 
ington Allston, the historical painter. He 
afterward became Governor of the State 
of South Carolina, and their son, Aaron 
Burr Allston, was proclaimed by his proud 
grandfather as the intended heir to the 
throne of the empire of Mexico, which he 
dreamed of wresting from the Monte- 
zumas. Aaron Burr awoke from that 
dream to find himself a prisoner confront- 
ed with a charge of treason, while the 
lovely Theodosia, the petted and beloved 
leader of the social circles of two capitals, 
found herself an object of distrust and 
suspicion, shunned by her nearest friends, 
and derided by those who before had not 
been so fortunate as to share her favor. 
Upon hearing of her father's imprison- 
ment at Richmond, she hastened to his 
side, and through the long trial clung to 
him with more than filial devotion, shar- 
ing in his disgrace, and by her beauty and 
heroism charming even the most bitter of 
his enemies. From her childhood she had 
been his friend and companion, and in the 
dark hours of his checkered career her 
faith in him and her devotion to him were 
the only ties that bound him to his fellow- 
beings. Subsequently, when her exiled 
father was weary of his four years' wan- 
derings in foreign lands, it was through 
her eloquent appeals to Mr. Madison, Sec- 
retary Gallatin, and other old-time friends, 
that the way was finally opened to his 
return to America. The death of her son. 



in his eleventh year, before his grand- 
father's return, prostrated her completely. 
In the hope that the companionship of her 
beloved father would restore her broken 
health and spirit, her husband obtained 
passage for her to New York in the "Pa- 
triot," a coasting schooner. The vessel 
was never heard from after its departure 
from Charleston, South Carolina, in De- 
cemljer, 181 2, and it was believed to have 
foundered off the coast of Hatteras. Some 
forty years afterward, however, a roman- 
tic story found credence and went the 
rounds of the press, to the effect that a 
dying sailor in Detroit had confessed that 
he had been one of the crew of mutineers 
who in January, 1S13, took possession of 
the "Patriot," bound from Charleston to 
New York, and compelled the crew and 
passengers to "walk the plank." Charles 
Burr Todd has written biographical 
"Sketches of Rev. Aaron Burr, D. D., Col. 
Aaron Burr, and Theodosia Burr Alls- 
ton," published in New York, 1879. 



CROSBY, Enoch, 

Hero of Cooper's "The Spy." 

Enoch Crosby was born in Har^wich. 
Massachusetts, January 4, 1753, son of 
Thomas and Elizabeth Crosby. In 1753 
his parents removed to Carmel, New 
York, and in 1771, after serving an ap- 
prenticeship, Enoch Crosby went to Dan- 
bury, where he worked at his trade as 
shoemaker. 

He joined the Continental army in 
1775, serving in the Lake Chamjjlain 
campaign for several months. He was 
sent home ill, and on his recovery in Sep- 
tember, 1776, he started on foot to return 
to the American camp at White Plains, 
New York. On his way he met a stranger 
who mistook him for a fellow Tory, and, 
by keeping up the deception, Crosby dis- 



207 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



covered a plot among a band of Tories 
against the Patriots. Proceeding to White 
Plains, he divulged his information to 
John Jay, then a member of the commit- 
tee of safety. A body of cavalry was at 
once despatched under Crosby's leader- 
ship, and the whole company of loyalists 
was seized and imprisoned. Jay then sug- 
gested that Crosby could best aid the 
cause by becoming a spy, to which he 
consented. He took his kit of tools and 
went from house to house repairing shoes 
and gaining much useful information. 
He afterward joined the British army, in 
which he rendered invaluable assistance 
to the Americans, risking his life many 
times to accomplish his purpose. After 
the Revolution he purchased a farm in 
Carmel, New York, and resided there 
until his death. In 1794, at the request of 
John Jay, an appropriation was granted 
for his services, but he declined it, say- 
ing that "it was not for gold" that he had 
served his country. He was for many 
years a justice of the peace, and was at 
one time an associate judge in the Court 
of Common Pleas. In 1812-13 he was 
supervisor for the township of Southeast. 
In 1827 he visited New York as a witness 
in a law suit, and was recognized by an 
old man who presented him to the court 
as the original of "Harvey Birch" in 
Cooper's romance, "The Spy." At that 
time the dramatization was being per- 
formed at the Lafayette Theatre, and Mr. 
Crosby was invited by the proprietor to 
occupy a box. He was introduced to the 
audience as "the real spy," receiving tre- 
mendous applause. See "The Spy Un- 
masked" (1828) by Captain H. L. Bar- 
num, and an article by H. E. Miller in the 
"New England Magazine" for May, 1898, 
entitled "The Spy of the Neutral Ground." 
He died in Brewsters, New York, June 26, 
1835- 



WILLIAMS, Jonathan, 

First Superintendent at West Point. 

Jonathan Williams, first superintendent 
of the United States Military Academy at 
West Point, was born in Boston, Massa- 
chusetts, May 26, 1750. His father, Jona- 
than Williams, being a well-to-do mer- 
chant, the boy received a good English 
education in the best schools of his time 
and place, but at an early age was placed 
in his father's counting-house. He was 
ambitious to learn, however, and devoted 
his leisure to study, gaining thereby con- 
siderable proficiency in the classics, and 
a writing and speaking acquaintance with 
the French language. His position in a 
mercantile counting-house giving him op- 
portunities for travel, he made a number 
of voyages to Europe and the West India 
islands; and it is said that his business 
letters displayed careful observation and 
unusual maturity of judgment. In 1770, 
when twenty years of age, he made a voy- 
age to England in company with a brother 
and an uncle, John Williams, who had 
been a local commissioner under the Brit- 
ish government. 

Jonathan Williams was a grandnephew 
of Benjamin Franklin, who at this time, 
was in England, and who took the young 
man into his own home during his stay 
in that country. Three years later he 
again made the voyage to England hav- 
ing the charge of letters to Franklin, bear- 
ing on the political relations existing be- 
tween England and America, and on his 
return voyage Franklin entrusted to him 
his replies. These confidences brought 
the young man into acquaintance with 
the most prominent personages of the 
time, by whom, in spite of his youth, he 
was considered a fit companion in mental 
cultivation and resources. In a letter to 
his father, dated September, 1774, he said: 



208 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



With regard to politics, nothing has occurred, 
nor do I think anything will happen till the Par- 
liament sits, when, I dare say, there will be warm 
work, and I have great hope that American 
affairs will wear a better aspect, for the minis- 
try, I have reason to think, will find a greater 
opposition than they expect. Unanimity and 
firmness must gain the point. 1 can't help re- 
peating it, though I have written it twenty times 
before. The newspapers, which used to be the 
vehicles of all kinds of abuse on the poor Bos- 
tonians, are now full of pieces in our favor. 
Only here and there an impertinent scribbler, 
like an expiring candle flashing from the socket, 
shows by his garrulity the weakness of his cause, 
and the corruptness of his heart. 

In 1775 Mr. Williams made a short 
visit to France. In letters written at that 
time he refers to the interest felt through- 
out France in the disputes between Great 
Britain and her colonies as follows : "They 
suppose England to have arrived at its 
pinnacle of glory, and that the empire of 
America will arise on the ruins of this 
kingdom, and I really believe that when 
we shall be involved in civil war they will 
gladly embrace the first opportunity of 
renewing their attacks on an old enemy, 
whom they imagine will be so weakened 
by its intestine broils as to become an 
easy conquest." In 1777 Mr. Williams 
was appointed commercial agent of the 
United States, and took up his residence 
at Nantes. In 1783 he received a com- 
mission from the farmers-general of 
France to supply them with tobacco, 
which was a government monopoly. He 
then settled at Saint Germain, where he 
continued to reside until 1785, when he 
returned with Dr. Franklin to the United 
States. In 1790 he settled with his family 
near Philadelphia, purchasing a country 
seat on the banks of the Schuylkill, where 
he devoted himself to the study of mathe- 
matics, botany, medicine, and the law, 
and becoming a sufficiently proficient law- 
yer to be made a judge of the Court of 
Common Pleas in Philadelphia, which 
position he held for several years. 



While in France he had devoted much 
time and thought to the subject of fortifi- 
cation, and after having aided in quelling 
the whiskey insurrection in western 
Pennsylvania, he was appointed major in 
the Second Regiment of Artillery and En- 
gineers in the regular army. During the 
winter of 1802 he was made inspector of 
fortifications, and appointed to the com- 
mand of the post at West Point, where 
his duties included instruction in the sub- 
jects with which he was familiar. The 
Military Academy at West Point was 
finally organized in 1802, and Major Wil- 
liams was appointed its first superintend- 
ent. In connection with this institution, 
Major Williams rendered most valuable 
service to his country. Under his direc- 
tion it steadily advanced in character, 
until all who were acquainted with its 
regulations and discipline acknowledged 
its advantages. It was not, however, un- 
til the heroic deeds of McRae, Gibson, 
Wood' and Macomb had so largely con- 
tributed to an honorable peace in the War 
of 1812, that the military school became 
a source of interest and pride to the nation 
— these accomplished and intrepid officers 
were first taught to be thorough soldiers 
by Major Williams. In April, 1805, Wil- 
liams returned to the army at President 
Jefiferson's request, with the rank of lieu- 
tenant-colonel and the position of chief 
engineer, but without giving up his super- 
intendence of the academy. His ability as 
an engineer, and the knowledge which he 
had gained in France and England re- 
garding fortifications, were now put to 
important use. He planned and built most 
of the inner forts of New York harbor, 
including Fort Columbia, Fort Clinton 
(now Castle Garden), and Castle Wil- 
liams, on Governor's Island, which was 
named for him. It had been promised to 
Colonel Williams that in case of attack 
the fortifications he had constructed in 



N Y-Vol 1-14 



209 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the harbor of New York should be placed 
under his command. At the beginning of 
the War of 1812, seeing that there was a 
near prospect that the enemy would in- 
vade the city, he claimed the fulfillment 
of that promise in vain, and, after a pro- 
tracted correspondence with the War De- 
partment upon the subject, he resigned 
his commission in the army of the United 
States. Immediately after his resignation, 
however, he was appointed by the Gov- 
ernor of New York brigadier-general of 
the State militia. In the autumn of 1814 
General W'illiams was elected a Member 
of Congress from the city of Philadelphia, 
but he never took his seat. 

He was for many years vice-president 
and corresponding secretary of the Amer- 
ican Philosophical Society, to whose 
transactions he was a frequent contrib- 
utor. He wrote also "The Use of the 
Thermometer in Navigation" (Philadel- 
phia, 1799) ; and translated "Elements of 
Fortification" (1801). and Kosciusko's 
"Manoeuvres for Horse Artillery" (1808). 
In September, 1779, he was married, in 
the house of the Dutch ambassador at 
Paris, to Marianne, daughter of William 
Alexander, of Edinburgh. He died in 
Philadelphia, May 16, 1815. 



APPLETON, Daniel, 

Founder of Publishing; House. 

Daniel Appleton was born in Haver- 
hill, Massachusetts, December 10, 1785. 
son of Daniel and Lydia (Ela) Appleton. 
He began his commercial career as clerk 
in a dry goods store and early established 
himself in the dry goods business of his 
own in Haverhill, and later in Boston. 
In 1825 he removed to New York City, 
locating in Exchange Place, where he 
opened an establishment for the sale of 
dry goods and books, in partnership with 
his brother-in-law, Tonathan Leavitt. In 



1830 Mr. Leavitt withdrew from the con- 
cern, and William Henry, Mr. Appleton's 
eldest son, took his place as head of the 
book department. Later the dry goods 
business was abandoned, and Mr. Apple- 
ton removed to larger premises in Clinton 
Hall, corner of Beekman and Nassau 
streets, where he devoted his capital and 
energy to importing and selling books. 

In 1830 Mr. Appleton made his first 
venture as a publisher, issuing a volume 
three inches square and a half inch thick, 
of one hundred and ninety-two pages, en- 
titled "Crumbs from the Master's Table," 
consisting of Bible texts compiled by 
W. Mason. A copy of this book is pre- 
served in the y\ppleton family. A still 
smaller volume, "Gospel Seeds," appeared 
in the following year, and was followed 
in 1832, the year of the cholera epidemic, 
by "A Refuge in Time of Plague and 
Pestilence." In 1838 Mr. Appleton vis- 
ited Europe and established the London 
agency of the house at 16 Little Britain; 
he also purchased in Paris a number of 
rare illuminated missals and manuscript 
specimens of the work of the early monks, 
which were eagerly bought in America 
and afforded the firm a large profit. In 
1838 William Henry Appleton was ad- 
mitted to a partnership, and the firm be- 
came D. Appleton & Company, and re- 
moved to 200 Broadway. In 1840 they 
issued" Tract No. 90," by Rev. Dr. Pusey, 
which was followed by the writings of 
Drs. Newman, Manning, Palmer, Mau- 
rice, and others of the Oxford School of 
Theological ideas. In 1848 Mr. Apple- 
ton retired, making the proviso that the 
official signature of the firm should remain 
as D. Appleton & Company. A print- 
ing house and bindery were established 
by the firm in Franklin street. New York, 
in 1853. In 1857 the "New American 
Cyclopaedia" was begun, the last volume 
being issued in 1863. The work proved 



•10 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



a success, upwards of thirty thousand 
sets being sold. In i868, owing to the 
increase of business, the mechanical de- 
partments were transferred to Brooklyn, 
where an immense block of buildings had 
been erected to accommodate them. In 
1861 the first copy of "The Annual Cyclo- 
pedia" was issued, a volume appearing 
every year thereafter, uniform in style 
and size with the "American Cyclopaedia," 
of which during the years 1873-76 a re- 
vised edition was prepared, with engrav- 
ings and maps. "Appleton's Cyclopaedia 
of American Biography," a valuable work 
of reference in six volumes, was com- 
menced in 1886, and "Johnson's Universal 
Cyclopedia, Revised," in 1893, in eight 
volumes. The wide range of books pub- 
lished by the Appletons comprises school 
text-books, medical and scientific works, 
Spanish books for the Central and South 
American trade, literature concerning 
the Civil War, poems, novels, etc., cover- 
ing, in fact, the whole range of literature. 
The works of Darwin, Huxley, Spencer 
and Tyndall were first printed in America 
by this firm, under royalty agreement 
with the authors. Owing to the theo- 
logical prejudices of the time, the publi- 
cation of these books brought some odium 
upon the Appletons. They were also the 
first to produce in New York the works 
of Mme. Muhlbach, one of the most 
popular novels published by the house 
being her "Joseph II. and His Court," 
the sale of which was rivalled by Dis- 
raeli's "Lothair," of which eighty thou- 
sand copies were sold. Among the firm's 
illustrated publications are: "Picturesque 
America," "Picturesque Europe," Pictur- 
esque Palestine," and "The Art of the 
World." 

Daniel Appleton died in New York 
City, March 27, 1849. 



MORSE, Samuel F. B., 

Artist, Inventor, Scientist. 

Samuel Finley Brecse Morse was born 
in Charlestown, Massachusetts, April 27, 
1 791, son of the Rev. Jedediah and Eliza- 
beth Ann (Breese) Morse; grandson of 
Deacon Jedediah and Sarah (Child) 
Morse, of Woodstock, Connecticut, and 
of Samuel and Rebecca (Finley) Breese; 
great-grandson of John and Sarah 
Morse, of Benjamin and Patience 
(Thayer) Child, and of the Rev. Samuel 
and Sarah (Hill) Finley; great-great- 
grandson of Benjamin and Grace (Mor- 
ris) Child, and a descendant of John 
Morse, who came from Marlborough, 
England, in 1635, and settled in New- 
bury, Massachusetts. 

He attended the public schools of 
Charlestown, and was graduated from 
Yale, A. B. 1810, A. M. 1816. While in 
college he attended Professor Silliman's 
lectures on electricity, and became espe- 
cially interested in natural philosophy, 
chemistry and galvanism. He decided to 
become an artist, and in 181 1 accompan- 
ied Washington Allston to London, 
where he studied painting under Allston, 
West and Copley. In 1813 he exhibited 
a colossal painting of the "Dying Her- 
cules" at the Royal Academy, where it 
received honorable mention, and the same 
year presented a model in clay of the 
same subject to the Society of Arts in 
competition, and received the prize medal 
for the best original cast of a single figure. 
In July, 1814, he completed a painting of 
"The Judgment of Jupiter in the Case of 
Apollo, Marpesa and Idas," and sent it to 
the Royal Academy for exhibition. He 
returned to America in I1M5, and his pic- 
ture was rejected on account of his 
absence. He then engaged in portrait 
painting in Boston. Massachusetts, and 
in Charleston, South Carolina. In 1819 



211 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



he painted a portrait of James Monroe at 
Washington, D. C, which was placed in 
the City Hall at Charleston. He then 
removed to New York City, and estab- 
lished a studio on Broadway, opposite 
Trinity Church, where he painted por- 
traits of Chancellor Kent, Fitz Greene 
Halleck, and a full length portrait of 
General Lafayette, for the city of New 
York. He founded the New York Draw- 
ing Association and was elected its first 
president ; was the first president of the 
newly established National Academy of 
Design, 1826-42; president of the Sketch 
Club ; and delivered a course of lectures 
on "The Fine Arts" before the New York 
Athenaeum. In 1829 he traveled and 
studied in London, Paris and Italy. While 
in Paris he produced a canvas on which 
he depicted in miniature fifty of the finest 
pictures in the Louvre. 

He returned to the United States in 
1832, on the packet-ship "Sully," and on 
the voyage the subject of electro-magnet- 
ism and the affinity of magnetism, to elec- 
tricity became a frequent topic of dis- 
cussion, several of the passengers being 
well versed in science. Mr. Morse be- 
came impressed with the idea that signs 
representing figures and letters might be 
transmitted to any distance by means of 
an electric spark over an insulated wire, 
and on his arrival in New York City, 
making use of the electro-magnet invent- 
ed by Professor Joseph Henry, of Prince- 
ton, New Jersey, he began to develop the 
use of his proposed alphabet. He devised 
a system of dots and spaces to represent 
letters and words, to be interpreted by 
a telegraphic dictionary. He was pro- 
fessor of the literature of the arts of de- 
sign in the University of the City of New 
York, 1832-72, and it was in the univer- 
sity building on Washington square that 
he completed his experiments, with the 
help and advice of Professor Henry, with 



whom he was in correspondence. The 
models were made of a picture frame 
fastened to a table ; the wheels of a wood- 
en clock, moved by a weight, carried the 
paper forward ; three wooden drums 
guided and held the paper in place; a 
wooden pendulum containing a pencil at 
its power end was suspended from, the top 
of the frame and vibrated across the 
paper as it passed over the center wooden 
drum. An electro-magnet was fastened 
to a shelf across the frame, opposite an 
armature made fast to the pendulum ; a 
type rule and type for breaking the cir- 
cuit rested on an endless bank which 
passed over two wooden rollers moved 
by a crank, this rule being carried for- 
ward by teeth projecting from its lower 
edge into the band ; a lever with a small 
weight attached and a tooth projecting 
downward at one end, was operated on 
by the type, and a metallic form pro- 
jected downward over two mercury cups. 
A short circuit of wire embraced the 
helices of the electro-magnet and con- 
nected with the poles of the battery, and 
terminated in the mercury cups. By 
turning the wooden crank, the type in 
the rule raised one end of the lever and 
by bringing the fork into the mercury it 
closed the circuit, causing the pendulum 
to move and the pencil to leave its mark 
upon the paper. The circuit was broken 
when the tooth in the lever fell into the 
first two cogs of the types, and the pen- 
dulum swinging back made another 
mark. As the spaces between the types 
caused the pencil to make horizontal 
lines long or short, Mr. Morse was able, 
with the aid of his telegraphic dictionary, 
to spell out words and to produce sounds 
that could be read. The perfected idea 
was heartily endorsed by those to whom 
he had exhibited it, and after many im- 
provements in the details he published 



212 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the results of his experiments in the "New 
York Observer," April 15, 1837. 

In the summer of 1837, Alfred Vail 
became interested in Mr. Morse's instru- 
ment, and advanced the means to enable 
him to make a more perfectly construct- 
ed apparatus. In September, 1837, Morse 
filed an application for a patent, and en- 
deavored to obtain from, Congress the 
right to experiment between Washington 
and Baltimore, but without avail. He 
then went to Europe to obtain aid but 
did not meet with success. He returned 
to the United States in May, 1839, and it 
was not until March 3, 1843, just before 
the close of the session, that he obtained 
from the Forty-seventh Congress an ap- 
propriation of $30,000 for experimental 
purposes, the first vote standing ninety 
ayes to eighty-two nays. He at once 
began work on his line from Washington 
to Baltimore, which was partially com- 
pleted May I, 1844, and the first message 
transmitted a part of the way by wire 
was the announcement ot the nomination 
of Henry Clay for President by the Whig 
Convention at Baltimore, Maryland. By 
May 24th the line was practically com- 
pleted, and the first public exhibition was 
given in the chamber of the United States 
Supreme Court in the capitol at Wash- 
ington, his associate, Mr. Vail, being at 
Mount Claire depot, Baltimore, Mary- 
land. Anna G. Ellsworth, daughter of 
the United States Commissioner of 
Patents, selected the words, "What hath 
God wrought," and the message was 
transmitted to Mr. Vail and returned 
over the same wire. The news of the 
nomination of James K. Polk for presi- 
dent was sent to Washington wholly by 
wire, and the news was discredited in 
Washington until the nomination of Silas 
Wright for vice-president was received 
and communicated by Mr. Morse to Sen- 
ator Wright, who directed Mr. Morse to 



wire his positive declination of the nomi- 
nation, the receipt of which so surprised 
the convention that it adjourned to await 
a messenger from Washington. A com- 
pany was formed soon after, and the tele- 
graph grew with great rapidity. In 1846 
the patent was extended, and was adopt- 
ed in France, Germany, Denmark, Rus- 
sia, Sweden and Australia. The defense 
of his patent-rights involved Professor 
Morse in a series of costly suits, and his 
profits were consumed by prosecuting 
rival companies, but his rights were final- 
ly affirmed by the United States Supreme 
Court. 

Morse now turned his attention to sub- 
marine telegraphy, and in 1842 laid a 
cable between Castle Garden and Gov- 
ernor's Island, New York Harbor. He 
gave valuable assistance to Peter Cooper 
and Cyrus W. Field in their efforts to 
lay a cable across the Atlantic ocean, 
being electrician to the New York, New- 
foundland & London Telegraph Com- 
pany. He was an intimate friend of Jac- 
ques Haude Daguerre, the inventor of 
the daguerreotype, whom he had met in 
Paris in 1839, ^"*^ o" his return to the 
United States constructed an apparatus 
and succeeded, in connection with Dr. 
John W. Draper, in producing the first 
sun pictures ever made in the United 
States. Morse also patented a marble- 
cutting machine in 1823, which he claim- 
ed would produce perfect copies of any 
model. Professor Morse made his home 
at "Locust Grove," on the Hudson river, 
below Poughkeepsie, New York, retain- 
ing his winter residence on Twenty-sec- 
ond street. New York City, and on the 
street front of this house a marble tablet 
has been inserted, inscribed : "In this 
house S. F. B. Morse lived for many 
years, and died." The honorary degree 
of LL. D. was conferred on him by Yale 
College in 1846, and he received a great 



213 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



silver medal from the Academie In- 
dustrie, Paris, in 1839, and decorations 
from Turkey, France, Denmark, Prussia, 
Wurtemberg, Spain, Portugal, Austria, 
Sweden, Italy and Switzerland. He was 
elected a member of the Royal Academy 
of Fine Arts of Belgium in 1837 ; corre- 
sponding member of the National Insti- 
tute for the Promotion of Science in 1841 ; 
a member of the Archaeological Associ- 
ation of Belgium in 1845, and the Amer- 
ican Academy of Arts and Sciences in 
1849. In 1856 a banquet was given him 
by the telegraph companies of Great 
Britain, and in 1858 representatives of 
France, Austria, Sweden, Russia, Sar- 
dinia, Turkey, Holland, Italy, Tuscany, 
and the Netherlands mer at Paris and 
voted an appropriation of 400,000 francs 
to be used for a collective testimonial to 
Mr. Morse. A banquet was held in his 
honor in New York City on December 
30, 1868, Chief Justice Salmon P. Chase 
presiding. A bronze statue of heroic size, 
representing him holding the first mes- 
sage sent over the wires, was modelled 
by Byron M. Pickett and was erected in 
Central Park, New York City, by volun- 
tary subscriptions June 10, 1871. The 
evening of the same day a reception was 
held at the Academy of Music, a tele- 
graph instrument was connected with all 
the wires in the United States, and the 
following message was sent: "Greeting 
and thanks of the telegraph fraternity 
throughout the land. Glory to God in 
the highest, and on earth peace, good will 
to men." To this message Morse trans- 
mitted his name, with h>s own hand on 
the instrument. On January 17, 1872, 
Professor Morse unveiled the statue of 
Benjamin Franklin in Printing House 
Square, New York City. 

In the selection of names for places in 
the Hall of Fame for Great Americans, 
New York University, in October, 1900, 



his was one of the sixteen names sub- 
mitted in "Class D, Inventors," and was 
one of three in the class to secure a place, 
receiving eighty votes, while eighty-five 
votes were given to Robert Fulton, and 
sixty-seven to Eli Whitney. Mr. Morse 
published several poems and various 
scientific and economic articles in the 
"North American Review ;" edited the 
"Remains of Lucretia Maria Davidson," 
(1829), and is the author of: "Foreign 
Conspiracy against the Liberties of the 
United States" (1835), "Imminent Dan- 
gers to the Free Institutions of the 
United States through Foreign Immigra- 
tion and the Present State of the Natural- 
ization Laws, by an American" (1835), 
"Confessions of a French Catholic Priest" 
(1837), and "Our Liberties Defended, the 
Question Discussed ; Is the Protestant or 
Papal System most Favorable to Civil 
and Religious Liberty?" (1841). 

He was married, October 6, 1818, to 
Lucretia, daughter of Charles Walker, of 
Concord. New Hampshire, by whom he 
had children, Charles Walker, Susan, 
and James Edward Finley. He was mar- 
ried (second) August 10, 1848, to Sarah 
Elizabeth, daughter of Captain Arthur 
Griswold, United States Army, and by 
her had children : Samuel Arthur Breese, 
Cornelia Livingston, William Goodrich 
and Edward Lind. Mrs. Morse died at 
the home of her daughter in Berlin, Ger- 
many, November 14, 1901. His death 
was observed by Congress, and in several 
State legislatures memorial sessions were 
held in his honor. He died in New York 
City, April 2, 1872. 



FIELD, Cyrus, 

Father of Ocean Telegraph. 

Cyrus West Field was born in Stock- 
bridge, Massachusetts, November 30, 
1819, son of the Rev. David Dudley and 



214 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Submit (Dickinson) Field, and grand- 
son of Captain Timothy Field and of Cap- 
tain Noah Dickinson, oificers in the 
American Revolution. 

He was educated at the village school 
and when fifteen years old began mercan- 
tile life as a clerk in the store of Alexan- 
der T. Stewart in New York City. In 
1838 he became a travelling salesman for 
his brother, Matthew D. Field, who had 
a paper mill at Lee, Massachusetts, and 
in 1840 he established a paper mill at 
Westfield, Massachusetts. In October, 
1840, he became junior partner in the 
commission paper house of E. Root & 
Company in New York City. In the 
spring of 1841 his firm failed, and he set 
about to pay the debts and reinstate him- 
self in business, so far succeeding that in 
1853 he com,pleted the payment of all the 
old indebtedness, with seven per cent, 
interest, left $100,000 remaining in the 
business, and retired with what was con- 
sidered at that time an rtmple fortune. 
He made a tour in South America, 1853- 
54, for the benefit of his health. 

An English telegraph engineer, Fred- 
eric W. Gisborne, under the patronage 
of the Rt. Rev. Dr. Mullock, of New- 
foundland, had organized the Newfound- 
land Electric Telegraph Company to es- 
tablish telegraphic communication be- 
tween Liverpool, England, and the west 
coast of Ireland, and between New York 
and Newfoundland, the message to be 
carried across the ocean on fast-sailing 
vessels. This project had failed for want 
of means, and Gisborne came to New 
York in January, 1854, to embark more 
capital in the project. Mr. Field became 
interested in the scheme through his 
brother, Matthew D. Field, a civil engi- 
neer, who encouraged the project. It 
was necessary to form submarine con- 
nection between Cape Breton and New- 
foundland, and this led Field to exclaim, 



"If between these two points, why not 
between Newfoundland and Ireland?" 
and the Atlantic cable was then con- 
ceived. With Peter Cooper, Moses Tay- 
lor, Marshall O. Roberts and Chandler 
White, he organized and obtained char- 
ter rights for the New York, Newfound- 
land & London Telegraph Company, and 
the incorporators subscribed $1,500,000 
to the stock. For thirteen years Mr. 
Field devoted his entire time to the 
project, visiting Europe thrice each year, 
watching the manufacture and testing of 
cables, and obtaining subscriptions from 
capitalists, concessions from Parliament, 
and advice from leading electricians and 
engineers. The Atlantic Telegraph Com- 
pany was formed with a capital of $1,- 
750,000, Mr. Field personally purchasing 
one-fourth of the capital stock and sell- 
ing three-fourths to English capitalists. 
In 1858, after one unsuccessful trial, a 
cable was laid, but after a few days sud- 
denly became useless. The Civil War 
interfered with the immediate continu- 
ance of the project, but in 1866 the steam- 
ship "Great Eastern," after one partial 
failure, safely deposited a larger cable on 
the "telegraph plateau," or bed of the 
ocean. The cable of 1867, which had 
parted in mid-ocean, was repaired, and 
the Atlantic cable was a success. The 
Congress of the United States voted Mr. 
Field a gold medal and the thanks of the 
nation ; the prime minister of England 
declared that only the fact of his alien- 
ship prevented his receiving the highest 
honors in the power of the British gov- 
ernment to give ; the commissioners of 
the Paris Exposition of 1867 gave him the 
grand medal, the highest prize they had 
to bestow ; kings decorated him ; and 
states and cities vied with each other in 
doing him. honor. 

While Mr. Field was employed with 
the cable, his firm in the paper business 



2IS 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



failed in 1857, his warehouses were 
destroyed by fire in 1859, and the panic 
of i860 forced him to compromise with 
his creditors. He again paid off his obli- 
gations, and before the successful accom- 
plishment of his projected scheme he had 
placed himself in good financial standing 
with the world. He afterward directed 
his energies toward projected submarine 
telegraphs between India, China, the 
Sandwich Islands, Australia and San 
Francisco ; between the United States, 
Cuba, South America ; and toward the 
solution of the question of rapid transit 
in New York City. He accomplished the 
construction of the New York elevated 
railroad, and on May 16, 1877, owned a 
majority of the stock and was elected its 
president. Having demonstrated the 
practicability of the project and its value 
as a money-earner, he was despoiled by 
those to whom he had trusted the con- 
trol of the enterprise during his absence 
in Europe, and he was left during his 
declining years with only a few shares 
of ocean telegraph stock, and the sem- 
blance of ownership of his home, "Ards- 
ley-on-the-Hudson," but even this was of 
no material benefit to his heirs. Severe 
domestic afflictions added to the distress 
of his closing days. 

His medals, decorations, jjlate, letters 
of congratulation and paintings, the sou- 
venirs of his successful accomplishment 
in ocean telegraphy, were deposited in 
the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New 
York City, and he was honored by elec- 
tion to fellowship in various learned soci- 
eties in both Europe and America. Wil- 
liams College conferred on him the honor- 
ary degree of Master of Arts in 1859, and 
that of Doctor of Laws in 1875. He died 
at Ardsley, near Dobbs Ferry, New York, 
July 12, 1892. 



MORRIS, Lewis, 

Signer of Declaration of Independence. 

Lewis Morris, son of Lewis and Cath- 
arine (Staats) Morris, was born at Mor- 
risania, April 8, 1726, and died there Janu- 
ary 22, 1798. His father was sole heir to 
and second lord of the Manor of Morris- 
ania, member of Governor Burnet's 
Council, assemblyman and jurist. 

He graduated from Yale College in 
1746, and preferring the pursuits of pri- 
vate life devoted his attention to the care 
of his Morrisania estate until 1775. Pre- 
vious to this time his public service was a 
single term in the New York Assembly, 
and his connection with the militia, in 
which he attained the rank of colonel. At 
the outbreak of the Revolution he as- 
sumed the leadership of the patriotic 
party in Westchester county. In August, 
1774, he headed the delegation from 
Westchester to the White Plains conven- 
tion which elected delegates to the Con- 
gress in Philadelphia. He was the 
instigator and leading spirit of the cele- 
brated White Plains convention of April 
II, 1775, which elected him a delegate to 
the Second Provincial Council to be held 
in New York, April 20 following; this 
convention chose him as a representative 
of the province to the Second Continental 
Congress whicli met in Philadelphia, May 
lO- 1775- Here Mr. Morris served on a 
committee of which General Washington 
was chairman, to devise ways and means 
for supplying the colonies with ammuni- 
tion and military stores. .After the ad- 
journment he was sent on a confidential 
mission to the west to negotiate with the 
Indians. When Congress resumed its 
sessions in 1776 he served on several of its 
principal committees, and was prominent 
in securing the adoption of measures 
strictly prohibiting intercourse with the 
English war vessels in the harbor. The 



216 






r^y/i^rrru 



KNER W THr DECLARATION CF iNDEPENOTNC J, 




JAMES DUANE 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ensuing July, with three of his New York 
colleagues, William Floyd, Philip Living- 
ston and Francis Lewis, he signed the 
Declaration of Independence. While 
Colonel Morris was absent at this famous 
Congress, the New York provincial con- 
gress elected him brigadier-general of the 
Westchester county militia. He was a 
member of the first New York State con- 
vention, and throughout Washington's 
Westchester county campaign and at the 
battle of White Plains, October 28, 1776, 
he was in active service, taking an impor- 
tant part also in the succeeding winter 
campaign in New Jersey, and being pres- 
ent at the battles of Trenton and Prince- 
ton. He was succeeded in the Continental 
Congress by his younger brother Gouv- 
erneur. He was the first judge of West- 
chester county under the State govern- 
ment, from May 8, 1777, to February 17, 
1778, and was one of the first two State 
Senators from Westchester county in 
1777. After the close of the Revolution 
he was elected to the New York Assem- 
bly, and promoted to the rank of major- 
general of militia. In 1788 he was a mem- 
ber of the Poughkeepsie convention 
which ratified the constitution of the 
United States. He married. September 
24, 1749, Mary, daughter of Jacob and 
Maria (Beekman) Walton, of New York 
City. Children: i. Lewis, born 1752; 
died November 22, 1824 ; married Anne 
Elliott, of Charleston, South Carolina, 
"the beautiful rebel." 2. Jacob, referred 
to below. 3. William Walton, born 1760; 
died April 5, 1832 ; married Sarah Car- 
pender. 4. Staats, married, 1800, Catalina 
Van Braeme. 5. Richard Valentine, born 
March 8, 1768; married, January 24, 1797, 
Anne, daughter of Jacob and Mary 
(Cruger) Walton, his first cousin mater- 
nal. 6. Mary, died 1776; married, 1775, 
Thomas Lawrence. 7. Catharine, died 
November 23, 1834; married, August 2, 



1778, Thomas Lawrence. 8. Sarah. 9. 
Helena, born 1762; died October 6, 1840; 
married, October 30, 1782, John Ruther- 
furd, afterwards United States Senator 
from New Jersey. 

General Jacob Morris, son of Hon. 
Lewis and Mary (Walton) Morris, was 
born at Morrisania, December 28, 1755, 
and died at Butternuts, now Morris, 
Otsego county. New York, January 10, 
1844. His father wished him to pursue 
a mercantile career and he was educated 
with that end in view, but joining the 
army in the Revolution, he was aide to 
General Charles Lee, under whom he 
fought with distinction at Fort Moultrie 
and elsewhere, and also to General Na- 
thaniel Greene. After the war he served 
in both the Assembly and Senate of the 
New York Legislature. He had the rank 
of general of militia. As partial compen- 
sation to his father, Lewis Morris the 
Signer, and his uncle. Judge Richard 
Morris, for losses sustained by them in 
the Revolution, the State of New York 
granted them a tract of thirty thousand 
acres in what was then Montgomery 
county. New York. Thither General 
Jacob Morris removed in 1787, and be- 
came the pioneer in the development of 
that region. He married (first) Mary, 
daughter of Isaac Cox; (second) Sophia 
Pringle. 



DUANE, James, 

Mayor of New York. 

James Duane, mayor of the city of New 
York, was born there February 6, 1733. 
He was the third son of Anthony Duane, 
of County Galway, Ireland, who when 
very young, being employed in the Brit- 
ish navy on the New York station, was so 
charmed with the place that he resigned 
his position and returned thither to live. 
Here he married Althea Keteltas, daugh- 



217 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ter of one of the leading merchants of his 
time in New York. She was Anthony 
Duane's second wife, and died when his 
son James was only three years of age, 
and five years later, in May, 1741, the 
elder Duane married his third wife, the 
widow of Thomas Lynch, of Flushing, 
Long Island. Anthony Duane died Au- 
gust 14, 1747. 

James Duane, as he grew up, received 
a good English education in the public 
schools, and, being designed for the law, 
entered the office of James Alexander, an 
eminent colonial lawyer and father of the 
American general, Lord Stirling. Mr. 
Duane was admitted an attorney of the 
Supreme Court on August 3, 1754, and 
soon found himself engrossed in a large 
professional practice. He rose to high pro- 
fessional standing, and was retained in 
most of the heavy litigation in New York, 
notably as the attorney of Trinity Church 
in the suits relating to the property claim- 
ed by the heirs of Anneke Jans. Among 
other property bequeathed by Anthony 
Duane to his four sons was a tract of land 
covering about six thousand acres, where 
stands the present town of Duanesburg, 
Schenectady county, New York. By the 
death of his two brothers and by purchase 
from the third, and by other purchases, 
James Duane became the owner of nearly 
the whole of that township, at the time, 
however, a wilderness. In 1765 he made 
the first permanent settlement of the 
town of Duanesburg by contracting with 
a colony of twenty Germans who went 
there from Pennsylvania and established 
themselves. In the meantime, in 1764, the 
king in council had decided that the ter- 
ritory which now forms the State of Ver- 
mont was part of the colony of New 
York. Reposing safely, as he supposed, 
on the validity of this decision, Mr. 
Duane purchased about sixty-four thous- 
and acres of land in this territory, at a 



cost of upward of $8,000. As a matter of 
fact, the entire territory in question was 
claimed both by New Hampshire and 
New York, and was known as the New 
Hampshire grants. The settlers there 
strongly opposed all attempts of the New 
York government to enter into possession 
of their lands, and the feeling which was 
aroused brought about the formation of 
a body of volunteers called the Green. 
Mountain Boys, of which Ethan Allen 
was a prominent member. There would 
no doubt have been a very serious con- 
flict growing out of this question had it 
not been for the outbreak of the Revolu- 
tionary War. 

In 1774 Mr. Duane was a member of 
several committees raised in New York 
City to devise plans for opposing British 
encroachments, and he was elected a 
member of the General Congress of that 
year. In April, 1775, he was elected a 
member of the Provincial Congress, and 
by that body was chosen a delegate to 
the Philadelphia Congress, which met in 
that city on May loth. In June, 1776, Mr. 
Duane removed his family from New 
York City, where he resided, and did not 
return to it until after the close of the 
war, a home being found for its members 
at Livingston Manor. Meanwhile Mr. 
Duane continued to attend the Congress 
wherever it met, and was very emphatic 
and determined in his political position. 
He was in favor of the project suggested 
by some one, of uniting the colonies under 
a president who should be appointed by 
the king; and he denied that Congress 
could not be bound by acts of Parlia- 
ment. In fact, at the tim.e of the begin- 
ning of the Revolutionary War, Mr. 
Duane, like a good many others, was con- 
siderable of an anglomaniac. and in 1775 
was earnest in his efforts to settle the 
trouble between the colonies and the 
mother-country without absolutely deny- 



218 




SIMEON DeWITT 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ing the supremacy of the latter. Indeed, 
he opposed the Declaration of Independ- 
ence itself, and to the last did his best to 
bring about delay, with the vain hope that 
the final separation might be obviated. 
On November 25, 1783, the day of the 
evacuation of New York by the British, 
James Duane with hundreds of his fellow- 
exiles, in the train of General Washing- 
ton, Governor Clinton, and other distin- 
guished personages, triumphantly re- 
entered his native city and took posses- 
sion of his property, which he found in a 
very dilapidated condition. Mr. Duane 
owned houses in King (now Pine) street, 
and also at the corner of Water street and 
the Fly Market, and these he found had 
been nearly destroyed. Hi.i farm com- 
prised about twenty acres where now is 
Gramercy Park, and the mansion house 
upon it was in good conditii. n, at it had 
been occupied by one of the British gen- 
erals ; here, accordingly, he established 
himself with his family. Actively enter- 
ing politics as the war closed, he was a 
powerful supporter of Washington's 
administration, an earnest and influential 
Federalist and devotedly attached to 
Hamilton, having been captivated by the 
speech of the marvelous boy "in the 
Fields," and so long as he lived was 
Hamilton's most efficient lieutenant. 
Duane received various preferments from 
the Federal administration and the Fed- 
eralist party. He was State Senator in 
1782, being appointed in place of Sir 
James Jay, a prisoner and absent on 
parole; and again from 1788 until 1790; 
was a delegate to the convention to ratify 
the national constitution, in 1788, very 
prominent therein ; and was commission- 
ed as United States district attorney by 
President Washington, September 26, 
1789. He continued to execute the duties 
of this office for nearly five years, wheii 
his health became so enfeebled that he 



resigned, with the intention of establish- 
ing a permanent residence on his property 
in Duanesburg, where his only son and 
one of his daughters already resided. He 
removed to Schenectady from New York, 
and he began to build a house there for 
temporary residence until his larger 
establishment at Duanesburg should be 
completed, but he never lived to see his 
house finished. He was suddenly taken 
with an affection of the heart, and expired 
February i, 1797. He was an eminent 
lawyer, an exceptionally able and ener- 
getic executive, of large wealth and 
superb character. 

On October 21, 1759, he married Mary 
Livingston, eldest daughter of Colonel 
Robert Livingston, at that time proprietor 
of Livingston Manor. 



DeWITT, Simeon, 

Surveyor, Scientist. 

Simeon DeWitt, a man of large scien- 
tific attainments, was born at Warwar- 
sing, Ulster county. New York, Decem- 
ber 25, 1756, son of Dr. Andrew DeWitt, 
and a descendant of the celebrated Jan 
DeWitt (1625-72), grand pensionary of 
Holland. 

He was prepared for college by Rev. 
Dr. Romeyn, of Schenectady, and entered 
Queens (now Rutgers) College, but was 
not graduated therefrom, however; for, 
the college being burned by the British, 
the students dispersed, and he returned 
home. A battalion being formed in Ulster 
county when the great mass of the people 
rose in arms to repel Burgoyne's invasion, 
young DeWitt volunteered, and was 
made adjutant ; the battalion, however, 
was absorbed into a regiment already ex- 
isting, and he lost his office and went into 
the ranks. As a common soldier he par- 
ticipated in the battles which led to the 
surrender of Burgoyne, at which momen- 

19 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



tous and historic event he was present, as Eclipse of the Sun, June i6, 1806, at 

he was later at the surrender of Corn- Albany," were published in the sixth 

wallis. Through the recommendation of volume of its "Transactions." He was an 

his uncle, General Clinton, Mr. DeWitt original member of the Society for the 

was appointed by General Washington to Promotion of Agriculture, Arts and 

the office of assistant geographer of the Manufactures, established in New York 

United States, and on the death of Colo- State in 1793, and in 1813 became its sec- 

nel Robert Erskine, in 1780, he succeeded ond president; to this society he also con- 

him as chief geographer, and proceeded to tributed papers. The society, on the 

headquarters at New Windsor, remaining establishment of the Board of Agricul- 

with the army until the end of the cam- ture, was amalgamated with the Lyceum 

paign. He prepared maps showing of Natural History as the Albany Insti- 

the field of operations during the war, tute, of which Mr. DeWitt continued an 



and was most anxious to have them pub- 
lished ; but the state of the public finances 
did not permit it. At the close of the war 
he asked to be transferred to the survey- 
ing department, and on May 13. 1774, he 
received his appointment as Surveyor- 
General of the State of New York, an 
office which he retained until his death. 
In 1802 he published a map of the State. 
In 1796 General Washington nominated 
him as Surveyor-General to the United 
States, and the appointment was cordially 
ratified by Congress, but he felt obliged 
to decline it. General DeWitt was one of 
the commission appointed to settle the 
boundary line between the States of New 
York and Pennsylvania, 1786-87, and was 
one of the promoters of the Erie canal. In 
1798 he was elected a Regent of the Uni- 
versity of the State of New York, and 
held this office until his death, being for 
many years the senior member of the 
board; in 1817 he was chosen as Vice- 
Chancellor, and in 1829 succeeded Lieu- 
tenant-Governor Tayler as Chancellor of 
the University, in which capacity he 
originated the taking of meteorological 
observations by every academy under the 
board. He was long a trustee of, and, at 



active and zealous member. His contri- 
bution to its minutes consist of a table of 
"Variations of the Magnetic Needle;" 
"Observations on the Functions of the 
Moon ;" "A New Rain Gauge." He made 
several communications to "Silliman's 
Journal," and published one book, "The 
Elements of Perspective." He received 
the degrees of A. B. (1776) and A. M. 
(1788) from Queen's College (now Rut- 
gers). 

A curious story, accentuated by the 
raillery of Fitz-Greene Halleck in the 
"Croakers," long had credence to the 
effect that, in laying out the Alilitary 
Tract in Central New York, the surveyor 
general was responsible for the classic 
appellations affixed to its townships, 
when the liquid Iroquois syllables were 
available for the purpose. General De- 
Witt resolutely, even passionately, de- 
nied the charge, and it is now quite well 
established that the unfortunate nomen- 
clature — the sprinkling of "Brutus," 
"Sempronius," ct id omnc genus, upon the 
newly created townships, like pepper 
from a box, is a one to a clerk in the 
office of the Secretary of State, whose 
name is dust. Politicallv, DeWitt was 



his death, president of the Lancaster originally a Clintonian, but he held his 
School Society. In 1790 he was elected a office for half a century, and amid the 
member of the American Philosophical chances and changes of politics, sustained 
Society, and his "Observations on the by his endearing personal traits — a singu- 

220 




JOSEPH ELLICOTT, 
Agent of Holland Land Company. Laid out City of Buffalo 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



larly competent, serviceable and worthy "Town of Buffaloe" was created by an 

public servant. act of the State Legislature. This name 

General DeWitt was thrice married ; was derived from, the Buffalo creek, upon 

first, to Miss Lynott; (second) to Mrs. which it is located. Mr. Ellicott largely 

Hardenburg, the sister of Colonel Varick, contributed to the early development of 

and (third) to Susan Linn, who wrote a the place, and through his influence suc- 

poem on "Pleasures of Religion," and a ceeded in promoting its rapid growth and 

novel "Justinea." He died at Ithaca, New settlement. For some time he held the 



York, December 3, 1834. A eulogium on 
his life was published by T. Romeyn 
Beck, in 1835. 



office of canal commissioner, and, being a 
zealous advocate of the Erie canal, in- 
duced Governor DeWitt Clinton to re- 
frain from engaging English engineers, 
as was intended by him, in place of 
American. During his twenty years' ser- 
vice as agent of the Holland Land Com- 
pany he disposed of most of its tract in 
western New York to actual settlers. He 
then retired from active work, and died at 
Batavia, New York, August 19, 1826. 



ELLICOTT, Joseph, 

Civil Engineer, City Bnilder. 

Joseph Ellicott was born in Bucks 
county, Pennsylvania, November i, 1760, 
son of Andrew Ellicott. He received a 
common school education, and subse- 
quently studied surveying and engineer- 

'"?; , , ^, ^ , ^. GOLDEN, Cadwallader, 

He had been the assistant of his 

brother, Andrew Ellicott, the first Sur- Lawyer, Congressman. 

veyor-General of the United States, with Cadwallader David Colden was born at 

whom he collaborated in the designing Spring Hill, Long Island, April 4, 1769, 

and laying out of the national capitol and grandson of Cadwallader Colden, royal 

in running the boundary line between Lieutenant-Governor of New York dur- 

New York and Pennsylvania. In 1797 ing the Stamp Act excitement, and an 

he was engaged by the Holland Land eminent scholar and physician. 

Company to survey the so-called "Hoi- After receiving preliminary education 

land purchase," located in western New at Jamaica, Long Island, young Colden 

York, and three years later was appointed went to England to continue his studies. 



local agent of the company, with head- 
quarters at Batavia, New York, which 
city he had founded some time before. 
Being a man of great ability and remark- 
able foresight, he saw the future impor- 
tance of a city at the foot of Lake Erie, 
and there chose a site upon which the city 
of Buffalo was laid out by him in 1804. 
He introduced a system of radiating 
broad avenues, embracing in the territory 
they enclosed rectangular blocks, on the 
same beautiful plan as Washington, D. C. 
The new town was originally named New 
Amsterdam by the Holland Land Com- 
pany, and only on February 10, 1810, the 



Upon his return to the United States in 
1785 he studied law, and in 1791 was 
admitted to the bar. He first practiced 
in New York City, then removing to 
Poughkeepsie in 1793, but soon resumed 
his residence in the metropolis, becom- 
ing the recognized leader of the bar in 
commercial law. In 1810 he was appointed 
United States District Attorney; in 1818 
was a member of the State Legislature, 
and in the same year succeeded Jacob 
Radcliff as mayor of New York City. He 
was a member of Congress from 1821 to 
1823, and in 1824-27 was a State Senator. 
Notwithstanding his Tory ancestry, he 



221 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



was a strong patriot, and in the War of 
1812 was colonel of a regiment of volun- 
teers. He cordially seconded DeWitt 
Clinton's plans of internal improvements ; 
took a warm interest in educational sub- 
jects, and for many years was one of the 
governors of the New York Hospital. 
He was an early and intimate friend of 
Robert Fulton, and wrote his biography. 
Mr. Colden was highly respected for his 
talents and virtues. He published, beside 
the "Life of Fulton," a "Memoir of the 
Celebration of the Completion of the New 
York Canals" (1825), and "Vindication of 
the Steamboat Right Granted by the 
State of New York." His wife was a 
daughter of Samuel Provoost, first Epis- 
copal bishop of the diocese of New York. 
He died in Jersey City, New Jersey, Feb- 
ruary 7, 1834. 



LIVINGSTON, John Henry, 

Clergyman, Edncator. 

John Henry Livingston was born in 
Poughkeepsie, New York, May 30, 1746, 
the son of Henry and Sarah (Conklin) 
Livingston. 

He was graduated from Yale College 
in 1762, and began the study of law, but 
impaired health led to its discontinuance. 
Recovering his health, he determined to 
study for the ministry, and in May. 1766, 
sailed for Holland and entered the Uni- 
versity of Utrecht. In 1767 he received 
his doctorate from the university, on 
examination ; was ordained by the classis 
of Amsterdam, June 5, 1769, made Doctor 
of Theology by the University of 
Utrecht in May, 1770, and returned to 
New York in the following September, 
having been invited to become one of the 
pastors of the Reformed Dutch Church 
in New York. While in Holland he pro- 
cured the independence of the American 
churches from, the Dutch classis, and 



within two years from the time of his 
return had succeeded in reconciling the 
Coetus and Conferentic parties, into 
which the church had been divided. Ar- 
riving in New York in September, 1770, 
he at once entered on the active duties of 
his pastorate, occupying the pulpit of the 
North Dutch Church at the corner of 
Fulton and William streets, and remained 
pastor until New York was occupied by 
the British in September, 1776, when he 
removed to Livingston Manor, preach- 
ing at Kingston, New York, in 1776, at 
Albany in 1776-79, at Lithgow in 1779-81, 
and at Poughkeepsie, New York, in 1781- 
83. After the evacuation of New York 
by the British in 1783, he returned to his 
pastorate, the only survivor of the band 
of clergy belonging to the old Dutch 
church seven years before. He performed 
the work which formerly required the 
services of all, for a year, when he re- 
ceived the appointment of Professor of 
Theology from the general synod on the 
recommendation of the theological faculty 
of Utrecht. In 1795 a regular seminary 
was opened in Flatbush, Long Island, but 
for lack of proper support was obliged to 
be closed. He then returned to New 
York, and in 1807 was elected Professor 
of Theology and president of Queen's 
College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, 
whither he removed in 1810, filling the 
two offices until his death. 

Mr. Livingston was an ardent patriot, 
and frequently officiated as chaplain dur- 
ing the sessions of the Provincial Con- 
gress. He was vice-president of the first 
missionary society in New York, having 
for its object the welfare of the Ameri- 
can Indians, and was also one of the Re- 
gents of the University of the State of 
New York in 1784-87. In addition to 
several sermons and addresses, he pub- 
lished: "Funeral Service: or. Meditations 
Adapted to Funeral Addresses" (New 
222 




THOMAS ADDIS EMMET 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



York, 1812) ; "A Dissertation on the Mar- 
riage of a Man with his Sister-in-law" 
(1816), and in 1787 was chairman of a 
committee to compile a selection of 
psalms for use in public worship. So im- 
portant was the work performed by him 
in laying the foundations of church and 
college that he was styled "The father of 
the Dutch Reformed church in America." 
He died in New Brunswick, New Jersey, 
January 20, 1825. 



EMMET, Thomas Addis, 

Irish Patriot, American Jurist. 

This brilliant man was of a family of 
worldwide note as prominently associated 
in Ireland and America with movements 
embodying the national aspirations of the 
Irish people. 

Christopher Emmet, ancestor in Ire- 
land of the Emmet family, was born in 
1700, at Tipperary, Ireland, where he also 
died. His son Robert was born in the 
same place, November 29, 1729. Robert 
Emmet received his medical degree from 
the University of Montpelier, France, 
about 1750, and began the practice of his 
profession in Cork, Ireland. In 1753 he 
wrote a medical work on diseases of wo- 
men, which was originally published in 
Latin and was afterwards translated into 
French, with two editions printed in 
Paris. Shortly after his marriage he was 
advised by Earl Temple, then Marquis 
of Buckingham, who had become Vice- 
roy of Ireland, to settle in Dublin, and 
was then appointed "state physician." 
Later, growing more and more in sym- 
pathy with the aspirations of those who 
desired the freedom of Ireland, he re- 



cution: "If the spirits of the illustrious 
dead participate in the concerns and cares 
of those who were dear to them in this 
transitory life, O ever dear and venerable 
shade of my departed father, look down 
with scrutiny upon the conduct of your 
suiTering son, and see if I have ever for a 
moment deviated from those principles of 
morality and patriotism which it was 
your care to instill into my youthful mind, 
and for which I am now to offer up my 
life." He married at Cork, November 16, 
1760, Elizabeth, daughter of James and 
Catherine (Power) Mason, of Bally- 
downey, County Kerry, thus allying him- 
self with the leading O'Hara, MacLaugh- 
lin. Blennerhassett. and Conway families. 
There were seventeen children born to 
this union, but only four lived beyond 
childhood. They were: i. Christopher 
Temple, born 1761 ; called to the bar, 
1781 ; appointed one of His Majesty's 
counsel, 1787, and died. 1789, after a bril- 
liant career; married Anne Western 
Temple. 2. Mary Anne, born 1763; mar- 
ried Robert Holmes. 3. Thomas Addis, 
mentioned below. 4. Robert, the cele- 
brated patriot and "rebel," called the 
"Patron Saint of Irish Liberty," born 
March 4, 1778, executed September 20, 
1803, for participating in the uprising of 
the people in Dublin in 1803, in his twen- 
ty-fifth year. The life of Robert limmet 
has been written by several distinguished 
authors, and has been made the theme of 
countless speeches and dissertations. Few 
names in Ireland's long history have be- 
come so embalmed in the tender memory 
of the Irish people. His youth, his bril- 
liant gifts, his self-sacrificing courage, the 



signed his office and drew away from 

"castle" influences. He was a man of dignity of his bearing in the face of 

varied gifts and the highest principle, and death, his passionate devotion to the wel- 

is immortalized in a remarkable passage fare of Ireland, his romantic attachment 

in the last speech of his patriot son Rob- to Sarah Curran, the pathetic blighting of 

ert, spoken at the trial preceding his exe- a career full of promises, have all com- 

223 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



bined to write his name indelibly in his- 
tory. 

Thomas Addis Emmet, son of Robert 
and Elizabeth (Mason) Emmet, was born 
in Dublin, Ireland, April 24, 1764, and 
died at New York, November 15, 1827. 
He was educated in Dublin, and gradu- 
ated from Trinity College. He studied 
medicine in Edinburgh and obtained his 
degree in 1784 with unusual honors. On 
leaving Edinburgh he went to London, 
where he entered Guy's Hospital as a 
resident physician and served the usual 
course in that institution. He then pro- 
ceeded to the continent for an exhaustive 
tour, accompanied by an intimate friend, 
Mr. Knox, from the north of Ireland, and 
a son of Lord Northland. On his return 
to Dublin he began the practice of his 
profession, and at once received the ap- 
pointment of state physician, in conjunc- 
tion with his father, Mr. Robert Emmet. 
He had already entered on a practice 
which promised to be brilliant, but on the 
sudden death of his brother Temple, his 
father urged him to adopt the law. He 
at once acceded to his father's wishes, and 
within a short period qualified himself for 
the bar. Becoming a leader of the Society 
of the United Irishmen, he was appre- 
hended by the British authorities and con- 
fined in Kilmainham jail, Dublin, and in 
Fort George, Scotland, for nearly four 
years, being liberated and exiled from his 
native land after the treaty of Amiens. 
After his liberation he went first to Paris, 
and in 1804 came to America and settled 
in New York, in which city he practiced 
law for the rest of his life. In 1812 he 
was appointed Attorney-General of the 
State. He was retained in many of the 
important cases tried in New York City, 
and also often appeared before the Su- 
preme Court of the United States. He 
was one of the counsel opposed to Web- 
ster in the great case of Gibbons vs. 



Ogden, and his argument in this case 
attracted wide attention and won enco- 
miums from Webster himself. He once 
sued Chancellor Livingston on behalf of 
a client who claimed that he had been 
unlawfully imprisoned by the chancel- 
lor's order, but in that suit he was de- 
feated, the Court for the Correction of 
Errors deciding that a judge is not liable 
for a mistake in judgment. The early 
New York Reports show him to have 
been engaged in a very extensive law 
practice, involving all manner of ques- 
tions, from those of constitutional and 
international law to those of libel. He 
was the counsel of Governor Lewis in his 
libel case against the editor of the 
"American Citizen." Emmet was known 
for his courtesy while at the bar, never 
indulging in any vituperative epithets or 
abusing his opponents, but his gentleman- 
ly instincts did not prevent him from us- 
ing to the utmost all his ingenuity in be- 
half of his client. Many interesting anec- 
dotes are told illustrating his natural and 
legal cleverness. He died from apoplexy, 
fhe stroke of which came on him in the 
court room in New York City, while 
engaged in the trial of a case. Although 
not buried there, he had a commemorative 
shaft in St. Paul's churchyard on lower 
Broadway, New York City. Before his 
death he published "Pieces of Irish His- 
tory." He married, January 11, 1791, 
Jane, daughter of the Rev. John and Mary 
(Colville) Patten. 

Robert Emmet, son of Thomas Addis 
and Jane (Patten) Emmet, was born at 
Dublin, Ireland, September 8, 1792, and 
died at New Rochelle, New York, Sep- 
tember 15, 1873. It was not known where 
he was prepared for college, but he was a 
student of Columbia, and graduated 
about 1810. He was brought to this 
country in his boyhood by his father. 
He adopted the legal profession, was held 



224 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in high regard by the members of the bar, 
and became a justice of the Superior 
Court. He was more especially distin- 
guished for his active efforts on behalf of 
his native land, and was conspicuously 
trusted and esteemed by the representa- 
tive men of the Irish race resident in New 
York City. In 1848, when an insurrec- 
tion was contemplated in Ireland, he 
cordially cooperated with his country- 
men, and was one of the directory formed 
for the purpose of sending material aid 
to the Irish patriots. He was an impas- 
sioned speaker. At the great meeting at 
the Tabernacle, June 6, 1848, he delivered 
an address in which he said: "If Ireland 
cannot achieve her independence without 
bloodshed, let it be with blood. I know 
something of the horrors of civil war in 
Ireland, but if it must come. I am not now 
too old, and I shall be found in the ranks 
of the people of my native island." He 
married, January, 1817, Rosina, daughter 
of Colonel Adam Hubley, a very active 
and distinguished officer during the Revo- 
lution. 



RUTGERS, Henry, 

Early Friend of Rntgers College. 

Henry Rutgers was born in New York 
City, October 7, 1745. After completing 
his preparatory education in the common 
schools in the vicinity of his home, he be- 
came a student at Columbia College, from 
which institution he was graduated in 
1766. He then entered the ranks in the 
army of the Revolution, held the rank of 
captain at the battle of White Plains, and 
subsequently attained the rank of colonel 
of the New York militia as a reward for 
his bravery and patriotism. During the 
occupation of the city of New York by the 
British from 1776 to 1783, his house was 
used as a barrack and hospital. Colonel 
Rutgers was elected to the Legislature 
N Y— Vol 1—15 225 



in 1784, and became his own successor by 
frequent re-elections, thus testifying to 
the faithful and conscientious work per- 
formed by him in the interests of his 
constituents. He was the owner of large 
tracts of land, extending from Chatham 
Square to the East River, and in other 
parts of the city, and gave portions gener- 
ously for streets, schools, churches, chari- 
table buildings, etc., thus being one of the 
great philanthropists of his day. He also 
contributed freely toward defensive 
works, and was the presiding officer at a 
mass meeting, June 24, 1812, to prepare 
against an expected attack of the British. 
In civil life he was from 1802 to 1826 one 
of the regents of the State University. 

In 1825, at the time of the election of 
Dr. Milledoler to the presidency of 
Queen's College, at New Brunswick, New 
Jersey, the college was at a very low ebb, 
both in scholarly standing and in finances 
as well. Colonel Rutgers became inter- 
ested and determined to remedy the evil. 
The name of "Queen's" was not consist- 
ent with his patriot ideas, and it was 
changed to "Rutgers" on December 5, 
1825, the college receiving from him a 
contribution of $5,000, a sum regarded at 
that time as most munificent. Colonel 
Rutgers never married, but adopted as 
his son and heir, William Bedlow Cros- 
by, a relative. Mr. Rutgers died in New 
York City, February 17, 1830. 



HICKS, Elias, 

Religious Reformer, 

The annals of Long Island are adorned 
with the names of many men of noble 
character who in the formative period of 
civil and religious institutions bore an im- 
portant and honorable part. In the exi- 
gencies of the times, the greater number 
were conspicuous in political and military 
affairs. It remained to one, Elias Hicks, 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



deeply touched by the hand of Divine 
Providence, to reflect in his life and 
teachings the spirit of the Master with 
a degree of sincerity and consistency 
which made his personality a vital and 
enduring force not alone in his own day, 
but to the present time. 

He came of a line of ancestors notable 
for manliness and ability. He was de- 
scended from Sir Ellis Hicks, of Glouces- 
ter, England, who received knighthood at 
the hands of Edward, the Black Prince, 
for conspicuous gallantry in capturing a 
set of French colors on the battlefield of 
Poitiers in 1356. Robert Hicks, a descend- 
ant of Sir Ellis Hicks, was of that com- 
pany of pilgrims who were unable to take 
passage on the "Mayflower,'' and came on 
the next vessel, the "Fortune," landing at 
Plymouth, Massachusetts, November 11, 
1621. He settled at Duxbury, where he 
died at a ripe age. In 1642 his sons, John 
and Stephen, were of an English com- 
pany which acquired by patent from the 
Dutch governor of the New Netherlands 
large tracts of land on Long Island. Ste- 
phen settled at Little Neck, and died 
without male descendants. From John, 
who settled at Hempstead, descended the 
numerous members of the Hicks families 
of Long Island and New York. He was 
an Oxford graduate, and his liberal edu- 
cation, broad intelligence and native 
force of character made him a leader in 
the most important afifairs of his time. 
He left an only son Thomas, who, inherit- 
ing the paternal vigor and force of char- 
acter, was also prominent in public af- 
fairs, and was the first judge appointed 
for the county of Queens. In 1666 he re- 
ceived from Governor Nicolls a patent to 
a tract of four thousand acres at Great 
Neck, on Long Island, where he built a 
fine mansion and lived after the English 
manorial style. He died at the extreme 
age of one hundred years, leaving more 



than three thousand descendants, among 
them being numerous great-great-grand- 
children. Among his children was a son 
Jacob, who was the father of John Hicks. 

Elias Hicks, son of the last named John 
Hicks and his wife Martha, was born 
March 19, 1748, at Rockaway, Long 
Island. Neither of the parents were mem- 
bers of any religious body until shortly 
before the birth of their son Elias, when 
the father became connected with the 
Society of Friends. When Elias was 
eight years of age his parents removed 
to a farm inherited from the father's 
father. This place was on the south side 
of Long Island, near the seashore, and 
the abundance of fish and wild fowl af- 
forded new diversion for the lad, who 
was naturally disposed to pleasure and 
self-gratification. Fishing and hunting 
became a passion with him,, yet he was 
induced to believe that these sports were 
of benefit to him in keeping him at home 
and from seeking unprofitable company. 
When he was eleven years of age his 
mother died, and his father was left 
with the care of six sons, of whom three 
were older than himself. When seven- 
teen years old he was apprenticed to a 
carpenter, and his surroundings became 
more unfavorable. 

January 2, 1771, when in his twenty- 
second year, he was married to Jemima, 
a daughter of Jonathan and Elizabeth 
Seaman, and a granddaughter of John 
and Abigail Willis. His wife was an only 
child and only grandchild, and in the 
spring following their marriage the young 
couple accepted the invitation of her 
relatives to make their home with them 
and care for the farm, situated at Jericho, 
Long Island. His wife's parents and 
grandparents all died within a fortnight 
of each other, leaving a great blank in the 
household. He, however, made the farm 
his place of residence during the remain- 



226 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



der of his life. Born of his marriage were 
four sons and six daughters. The sons 
were all of frail constitution, and none 
lived to the age of twenty years. 

When about twenty-five years of age, 
Elias Hicks entered the Friends' (Quak- 
ers') ministry, and from that time until 
his death at the ripe age of eighty-one 
years was a faithful and tireless religious 
worker. His deep conscientiousness is 
revealed in his conduct during the Revo- 
lutionary War and with reference to 
human slavery. He was greatly exer- 
cised on the latter subject, and bore faith- 
ful testimony against the iniquitous insti- 
tution, taking frequent public occasion to 
expose the sin of forced servitude and op- 
pression. At one meeting he spoke with 
such power that some slaveholders pres- 
ent were much afifected, and one, a woman 
who owned a number of slaves, was so 
convinced by his utterances that she gave 
them freedom. His conscience was not 
satisfied with mere protest against what 
he held to be a crime, but he carried his 
opposition into practical effort. He 
habitually refrained from using the pro- 
ducts of slave labor, and deprived himself 
of wealth by inducing his father to manu- 
mit his slaves, and by declining to avail 
himself of any part of the value of 
slaves belonging to the estate of his 
father-in-law when it came to be 
divided. In the last instance he took the 
money which was his share and used it in 
purchasing freedom of some of the family 
slaves ; he went even further, assuming 
the care and support of those thus liber- 
ated, and left in his will a bequest for their 
maintenance in old age. During the 
dreadful years of the Revolutionary War 
he carefully maintained the peaceful 
principles of his sect, bearing himself with 
modest dignity, and was habitually re- 
garded with respect, even by irregular 
marauders during the period of great dis- 



order. For a time British soldiers were 
quartered at his house. During the entire 
war the yearly meeting of the Society of 
Friends was held regularly on Long 
Island, where the King's rule prevailed, 
and Friends were afforded free passage 
through both armies to attend it. They 
were also privileged to travel to all meet- 
ings of Friends. Mr. Hicks passed through 
the lines of both armies six times, and both 
parties generally received him with civility 
and cordiality. His travels took him over 
a territory thirty miles in extent, which 
was infested not only by hostile troops, 
but by marauders who recognized no 
authority and plundered all who came in 
their way. He was unmolested even by 
these, except in one instance. In 1781, on 
the latter part of his journey from Mama- 
roneck to Westchester, he and a compan- 
ion were roughly accosted by a party who 
demanded whence they came, whither 
they were going, and upon what errand. 
The Friends returned mild answers, 
whereupon their interrupters, who had 
just before beaten and robbed a man, were 
disarmed of their rage, one of their num- 
ber who had remained silent, said: "Come 
let us go. The Quakers go where they 
please," and they permitted the peaceful 
travelers to go their way. 

From the beginning of his ministerial 
life, Mr. Hicks developed intellectuality 
with his years and experience, and he 
came to exert a commanding influence in 
the field of his efifort. In his public ad- 
dresses he sought no momentary effects 
by arts of oratory or assumption of 
scholasticism. He spoke plainly and log- 
ically, in comprehensible language, and 
with an intensity of sincere feeling which 
at once commanded the respect of those 
not in accord with him, and seemed to 
inspire his brethren with a large measure 
of his own abundant courage, faith and 
hope. He was firm in the conviction that 



227 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 

"a hired servant was not the true bearer ing the Friends, always meeting large 

of the Lord's message," and he served assemblages upon whom he left lasting 

without compensation, even during his impressions for good. In 1828, the year of 

travels, providing himself with means for the division of the Society of Friends, he 

the defraying of his expenses. His re- made a protracted visit to the western 

ligious views were in advance of his time, yearly meetings and to the meetings com- 

and were resultant from his own deep and posing them. It was a period and place 

prayerful self-study. He held to the of great unrest because of the false rumors 

broadest possible conception of God as all which had been set afloat concerning him. 

love, rejecting every doctrine and idea Asa consequence, the meetings were very 

that qualified His absolute wisdom and large, all being desirous of seeing and 

goodness, or restricted in any degree His hearing him, and the meeting houses were 

affection and solicitude for the whole so inadequate that the assemblages met in 

human family. He accepted in the broad- orchards and in the woods. On some oc- 

est sense the Quaker doctrine that the casions his hearers were as many as five 

Holy Spirit directly influences the human thousand, and it is said that the people 

heart, and that strict adherence to the call generally went away well satisfied with 

of duty, as revealed to each individual his doctrines. He was on one journey for 

soul, is the foundation of all true religion, seven months, and traveled twenty-four 

At the same time he accorded a less exalt- hundred miles. In 1829 he experienced a 

ed place to the Bible, holding the Holy sad affliction in the death of his wife, with 

Spirit to be an infallible guide rather than whom he had lived for fifty-eight years in 

the written word, and his idea of the one unbroken bond of deepest aiTection 

divinity of Christ was akin to the Unita- which, if it were possible, grew stronger 

rian view. He strongly opposed the old- with each succeeding year to the last 

time belief of a personal Satan, holding moment of her life. Even this great sor- 

human passions and weaknesses to be the row did not turn him aside from the path 

only actual evil spirit with which man- of duty. In that year he made a long visit 

kind have to contend and overcome, to western New York, an account of 

These views, new then, but now held by which is recorded in his journal over his 

many eminent theologians, were disap- signature. 

proved by many of the Friends, and after In the intervals of his travels to the 

some years of discussion a division took meetings of distant Friends he was active 

place in the sect, and the Quakers became, on his farm, holding idleness to be a sin, 

as they yet remain, two separate bodies, and it is to be said of him that he was a 

Those who adhered to his views are man "diligent in business, fervent in 

known as the Hicksite Quakers, and are prayer, serving the Lord." On one oc- 

the most numerous of the sect about New casion, at the advanced age of eighty 

York, Philadelphia and Baltimore ; while years, he cut five acres of grain with a 

those who opposed his views are known hand cradle, and later the same day en- 

as Orthodox Quakers, and are more gaged in setting out fruit trees. A passing 

numerous in New England and the west- neighbor enquired why he should labor 

ern States. so hard at his time of life, and he replied: 

Mr. Hicks was during his long and "We should live as if we always expected 

active career constantly traveling, and to live, for the benefit of those who are to 

often to considerable distances, address- come after us, yet be ready at any mo- 

228 




Jf...M 



^^?-^i-^>'<^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



merit." He was at the same time as deeply 
interested in his brethren at and near his 
home as though he had no other mission. 
He assisted in building the meeting house 
in Jericho, and one of his sons was the 
first to be laid to rest in the cemetery 
adjoining it. He was one of the few at 
Jericho monthly meeting who founded 
the charity society for the education of 
colored children, which is yet in existence. 
In his dress, the furniture of his house, 
and all outward things, he was the em- 
bodiment of that severe plainness which 
characterized the typical Quaker. In per- 
son he was of an erect commanding pres- 
ence. He was afifable in his bearing, hav- 
ing the indefinable dignity of the old- 
school gentleman, somewhat reserved in 
manner, yet so courteous and kindly and 
so rarely intelligent in his conversation 
that the most cultured delighted in his 
companionship, while at the same time his 
society was m.uch sought by the young, 
who were drawn to him by his cheerful- 
ness of disposition and the interest which 
he took in their welfare. The latter class 
were particularly pleased to accompany 
him on his fishing excursions, believing 
that his presence brought them good for- 
tune. On one occasion a young fisherman 
who had toiled unsuccessfully for many 
hours, while he had drawn out a goodly 
number of fish, threw down his line in 
discouragement, exclaiming, "Elias, you 
do beat the devil," to which the gentle 
Quaker responded in calm tones, "That 
is what I have been trying to do all my 
life." 

In 1829, shortly after returning from 
his last journey, previously mentioned, he 
was stricken with paralysis, which aflfect- 
ed his right side and his speech, and it 
was apparent to all that the work of this 
faithful servant was accomplished, and 
the spirit which had been so diligently 
active in the service of his Divine Master 
was to rest from its labors and to reap its 



reward. He continued gradually to de- 
cline until the evening of February 27, 
1830, when he quietly passed away, in the 
eighty-second year of his age. His funeral 
took place the third of third month, and 
was attended by a very large assemblage 
of Friends and others, after which his re- 
mains were interred in the Friends' bury- 
ing ground at Jericho. 



VARICK, Richard, 

Soldier, Lawyer, Mayor of New Tork, 

Richard Varick (original family name 
Van Varrick), was born at Hackensack, 
New Jersey, March 25, 1753. He received 
a thorough practical education, studied 
law, and was admitted to the bar in New 
York City, October 22, 1774. 

When the Revolutionary War began, 
he volunteered his services and was made 
captain in Alexander McDougall's regi- 
ment, and in June, 1775, was appointed 
military secretary toGeneral Philip Schuy- 
ler. On September 25, 1776, he received 
from Congress appointment as Deputy 
Commissary General of Musters for the 
Northern army, and was promoted to the 
rank of lieutenant-colonel on April 10, 
1777. He took part in the battles of Still- 
water and Saratoga, and after General 
Burgoyne's surrender was stationed as 
Inspector General at West Point, and was 
for some time attached as aide-de-camp to 
General Benedict Arnold. These positions 
he held until after General Arnold's 
treason was discovered, when he was ex- 
amined by a court of inquiry, which exon- 
erated him from suspicion of the least 
complicity in General Arnold's defection. 
Shortly afterward he became a member of 
General Washington's military family, 
and was by him appointed his recording 
secretary. After the city of New York 
had been evacuated by the British in 
1783, Mr. Varick became recorder, remain- 
ing in this post for five years, whereupon 



229 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



he was made Attorney General of the 
State of New York. In 1789 he became 
mayor of New York City, succeeding 
James Duane, and held this office until 
1801. With Samuel Jones he was appoint- 
ed in 1786 to revise the State laws, which 
work resulted in a volume published in 
1789. He was speaker of the Assembly 
in 1787, colonel of a militia regiment, 
president of the Merchants' Bank, and a 
founder of the American Bible Society, of 
which he was president from the resigna- 
tion of John Jay until his death. With 
Attorney Dey and Jacob Radcliff he was 
associated in incorporating the Associates 
of the Jersey Company, and was thus one 
of the three founders of Jersey City. He 
died there, July 30, 1831. 



STEPHENS, John Lloyd, 

Noted Traveler and Author. 

John Lloyd Stephens was a native of 
New Jersey, born in Shrewsbury, Novem- 
ber 28, 1805. He graduated from Columbia 
College at the age of seventeen, studied 
law in Litchfield, Connecticut, and in New 
York City, and entered upon practice in 
the latter place. He took considerable in- 
terest in politics, and gained some fame as 
a Tammany Hall campaign orator. In 1834 
he went abroad, and was absent for two 
years, traveling through the southern and 
eastern parts of Europe, writing under 
engagement for "Hoffman's Monthly 
Magazine," his papers meeting with such 
favor that they were subsequently expand- 
ed into four volumes — "Incidents of 
Travel in Egypt, Arabia, Petrae and the 
Holy Land" (1837), and "In Greece, 
Turkey, Russia and Poland" (1838), and 
both of which were widely circulated in 
Great Britain as well as in the Lhiited 
States. 

In 1839 President Van Buren sent him 
on a semi-confidential commis?ion to Cen- 



tral America, which was barren of results, 
the country being amid all the confusion 
of civil war and an overthrow of the ex- 
isting government. However, he improv- 
ed his opportunities, and in company with 
F. Catherwood, an English artist, visited 
the ruins of Cpan, Palenque, Axmal, etc., 
making notes and drawings of the remains 
of former empires of which little was then 
known. These explorations resulted in 
his most important work, "Incidents of 
Travel in Central America, Chiapas and 
Yucatan," in two volumes, published in 
1841. In company with Mr. Catherwood, 
whose illustrations added much to the 
value of that work, and with more ample 
equipment for archaeological research, he 
made another survey of substantially the 
same ground, and in 1843 issued a two 
volume work entitled "Incidents of Travel 
in Yucatan." These works were most 
opportune, and he gained and long held 
the distinction of making the best and 
most ample contribution to the American 
knowledge of antiquities in those regions. 
In 1846 Mr. Stephens was a member of 
the New York Constitutional Conventioi:. 
In the following year he was active in thi 
organization of the first ocean steam navi 
gation company, in which he held an of- 
ficial position ; and he was a passenger to 
Bremen in the first vessel of the line. The 
gold discoveries in California pointed to 
the necessity for a railroad across the 
Isthmus of Panama ; he entered into this 
project with his accustomed enthusiasm, 
became vice-president and then president 
of the projecting company, and after per- 
sonally surveying the route, visited Bo- 
gota and negotiated a contract with the 
New Granada government, completing all 
these arrangements within the year 1849. 
During the following two years he was 
constantly engaged in superintending the 
work of construction, but fell victim to the 
insidious malaria of the Panama region, 
230 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



contracting the disease which caused his 
death, in New York, October lo, 1852, 
thus ending all too soon a life of phenom- 
enal activity and eminent success. His 
memory is preserved in a monument 
erected at the highest point reached by the 
Panama railroad. 



VANDERLYN, John, 

Early Painter. 

Jnhn X'anderlyn was born at Kingston. 
New York, October 15, 1775. and was 
apprenticed at sixteen to a painter of 
vv'agons. The foundation of his fortunes 
was laid by Aaron Burr, who, chancing to 
see some of his early drawings, invited 
him to New York, gave him the means of 
studying under Gilbert Stuart, and then 
sent him to Paris. 

Vanderlyn returned from abroad in 
1801, and executed portraits of Aaron and 
Theodosia Burr, to the delight of his 
patron, who said he was "pronounced to 
be the first painter that now is or ever has 
been in America, and run down with ap- 
plications for portraits, all of which, with- 
out discrimination, he refused." In 1803 
he again went to Europe for a longer stay, 
in course of which he became intimate 
with Allston in Paris, and for a time lived 
at Rome in a house that had been Salvator 
Rosa's, where he painted his famous 
picture, "Marius amid the Ruins of Car- 
thage." and which finallj^ found a home at 
San Francisco. It was exhibited at the 
Paris Louvre in 1808, and received the 
gold medal by order of the French em- 
peror. This medal was twice redeemed 
from pawn by members of the Kip fam- 
ily, and finally kept by them as a compan- 
ion to the picture which had been exhib- 
ited in Boston with the "Ariadne," and 
offered to the Athenaeum for $500. What- 
ever the artist's faults, ingratitude was not 
among them. When Burr was in exile 



and poverty, Vanderlyn supported him 
for some time in Paris, and painted three 
pictures to procure the price of his home- 
ward journey. Vanderlyn had by this 
time laid a basis of solid prosperity, for 
his fame was established and orders were 
abundant, but he returned in 181 5 to more 
precarious fortunes in ;\merica. He 
erected the rotunda behind the New York 
city hall, which put him in debt, and ex- 
hibited a panorama which was not suc- 
cessful. Discouraged, he retired to his 
birthplace, where for a time he did good 
work, including his "Ariadne," which was 
bought by Durand and engraved. Con- 
gress ordered a full-length Washington 
portrait for $10,000, and paid him $2,500 
on its reception. He also painted likenesses, 
said to be in some cases the best extant, of 
Madison. Monroe, Jackson. Calhoun, 
Randolph, Clinton and others. Inferior in 
value and of more doubtful authenticity 
is his "Landing of Columbus," in the 
rotunda of the capitol. The commission 
was given in 1842, and $12,000 paid in 
installments. The conception and design 
are said to be Vanderlyn's, but most of 
the work was done by another hand, while 
he himself was copying pictures in the 
Louvre for home patrons. His own origi- 
nal painting was done slowly and deliber- 
ately, and in a style different from that of 
the "Columbus" in the capitol. Vander- 
lyn was a man of fine powers, but of care- 
less and improvident habits, and of quer- 
ulous and jealous temper ; his career was 
marred from the start by lack of judgment 
and indvistry, and in his later years he 
sank into apathetic indolence. 

He died at Kingston, September 23, 
1852, leaving an autobiography said to 
have been dictated to a friend, and which 
was destroyed by fire in a publishing 
house. A sketch of Vanderlyn by Bishop 
Kip appeared in the "Atlantic Monthly" 
for February, 1867. 



231 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



VASSAR, Matthew, 

Founder of Vassar College. 

Matthew Vassar was born April 29, 
1792, in East Dereham, England. His 
parents, James and Anne (Bennett) Vas- 
sar were Baptists. They came to the 
United States in 1796, settling in Pough- 
keepsie, New York, where the father set 
up a "home-brewed ale" brewery. The 
family was of French ancestry and the 
original name was Le Vasseur. 

The father's business was distasteful to 
the son, who went into other occupations, 
but the brewery burned down, and a 
brother lost his life in an endeavor to 
save the property, and Matthew Vassar 
rejoined his father, aided him in re-estab- 
lishing the business, and acquired a great 
fortune. In 1813 he married Catherine 
Valentine, and subsequently they traveled 
abroad. Upon his return to the United 
States, Matthew Vassar expressed a de- 
term.ination to devote his great wealth to 
some noble purpose. At that time there 
was not in the country a higher educa- 
tional institution for women, and, through 
the influence of Professor Milo P. Jewett 
he determined to supply the want. Ac- 
cordingly, in 1861, Vassar College was 
incorporated, and to it Mr. Vassar donated 
two hundred acres of land and the sum 
of $400,000, conditioned that the college 
should be maintained non-sectarian in its 
teachings, but under Baptist control. The 
college opened in 1865, with a faculty of 
eight professors and twenty instructors, 
and three hundred and fifty pupils. Mr. 
Vassar by his will increased the endow- 
ment of the institution to $800,000, and 
also contributed liberally to local benevo- 
lences, and erected a Baptist church in his 
native town in England. He died in 
Poughkeepsie, June 23, 1868, while in the 
act of reading his annual address at the 
third commencement of the college. 



HARRIS, Ira, 

Jnrist, Statesman, 

Ira Harris was born May 31, 1802, at 
Charleston, Montgomery county, New 
York, the oldest of a family of ten chil- 
dren of Frederick Waterman and Lucy 
(Hamilton) Harris. In 1808 the family 
removed to Cortland county and settled 
upon a farm of some four hundred acres. 
The father and mother were both natives 
of the State, being of English ancestry on 
the father's side and on the mother's, 
Scotch. 

Ira Harris attended the district schools 
of the neighborhood until 1815, when he 
entered the academy in Homer, five miles 
distant, where he prepared for college, and 
in September, 1822, entered Union Col- 
lege, Schenectady, from which he was 
graduated with first honors in 1824. He 
had intended to pursue the profession of 
law, and accordingly took the opportunity 
to enter the office of Augustus Donnelly, 
at Homer, where he remained for one 
year. He then removed to Albany and 
entered the office of Chief Justice Am- 
brose Spencer, remaining there until 1827, 
when he was admitted to the bar and be- 
gan his professional career in the capital. 
Soon after he engaged in a partnership 
with a fellow student in college. Salem 
Dutcher, which continued until 1842, 
when, on Mr. Dutcher's removing to New 
York, Mr. Harris formed a partnership 
with Julius Rhoades. In 1844 Mr. Harris 
was elected to represent Albany county 
in the Assembly, and in the following year 
was reelected. He became prominent in 
debate, and an influential member of the 
house. In 1846 he was chosen to a seat in 
the convention of that year, appointed to 
revise the constitution of the State. In 
the autumn of the same year he was 
elected to the State Senate, where he 
only remained one session, having been 



2'12 




MATTHEW VASSAR. 
Founder of Vassar College. 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



elected in the spring of 1847 justice of 
the Supreme Court of the State, with a 
four years term. Such rapid advance- 
ment is unusual, and shows the high posi- 
tion that Mr. Harris had already reached 
in the opinion of his fellow-citizens. In 
1851 he was reelected judge for the entire 
term of eight years. On the bench he 
exhibited profound and accurate knowl- 
edge of the law, great judicial capacity, 
strict integrity and severe impartiality. 
The published opinions of Judge Harris 
during the twelve years he sat upon the 
bench are continually referred to for their 
lucid explanation of principles and law. 
His charges to juries were models of ex- 
cellence in the clearness and impartiality 
with which they presented the proven 
facts and the law bearing upon them. 

Retiring from the bench, Judge Harris 
went to Europe, where he remained 
absent a year in foreign travel. Returning 
home in 1861, he was elected to the Senate 
of the United States, succeeding William 
H. Seward, and in competition for the 
election with William M. Evarts and 
Horace Greeley. In the Senate chamber 
his splendid personal appearance, digni- 
fied manner, and his recognized abilities, 
made him a prominent figure. He was 
placed upon the committees on foreign 
relations and the judiciary and the select 
joint committee on the southern States. 
During the period of the W' ar of the Re- 
bellion, he exerted great influence, being 
the intimate and trusted friend of Presi- 
dent Lincoln. He raised a regiment of 
cavalry which was called after his name. 
In 1867 the term of Senator Harris ex- 
pired, and he was elected to the State 
Constitutional Convention of that year, it 
being the second time that he had received 
this honor. Upon the adjournment of the 
convention, Mr. Harris, who had been in 
public office for twenty-three years, gain- 
ed for the first time release. Having been 
connected with the Albany Law School 



from its organization in 1850, he now ac- 
cepted the appointment of Professor of 
Equity, Jurisprudence and Practice, and 
settled down on his farm at Loudenville, 
near Albany, devoting himself wholly to 
his lectures in the school up to the time of 
his decease. His lectures were eminently 
successful and popular, and, if anything, 
enhanced his reputation. Senator Harris 
was for many years president of the board 
of trustees of Union College. He was 
also president of the Albany Medical Col- 
lege, and a member of the board of trus- 
tees of Vassar College, and was one of the 
founders of Rochester University and its 
first and only chancellor. For a long time 
he held the office of deacon in the Em- 
manuel Church in Albany, and was also 
president of the American Baptist Mis- 
sionary Union. 

Judge Harris left a widow, two sons and 
four daughters. Colonel William Hamil- 
ton Harris, the elder son, served thirteen 
years in the United States army, and was 
honorably discharged at his own request. 
He settled in Cleveland, Ohio, where he 
became busily engaged in various rail- 
roading, mining, manufacturing and com- 
mercial enterprises. Captain Ira Harris, 
the other son, served ten years in the 
United States navy, resigned his commis- 
sion, and engaged in the iron manufac- 
turing business in Kansas City, Missouri. 
Mr. Harris died in Albany, New York, 
December 2, 1875. 



WOODHULL, Nathaniel, 

Soldier of the Bevolntion. 

In many respects the greatest of the 
Long Island Revolutionary heroes was 
General Nathaniel Woodhull, a man of 
most lovable character, a staunch patriot, 
a sincere Christian, a statesman, and a 
soldier who had won a reputation for per- 
sonal courage and military skill long be- 
fore the time came for him to give up his 
life in the service of his native land. 



233 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Nathaniel Woodhull was born at Mas- 
tic, Brookhaven township, Long Island, 
New York, December 30, 1722, son of Na- 
thaniel Woodhull, of Brookhaven, who 
was descended from, Richard Woodhull, a 
native of Thetford, Northampton, who 
had to leave England in 1648 on account 
of the political troubles shortly before the 
restoration of Charles II. to the throne. 
He was one of the original settlers of 
Jamaica, Long Island, his name being re- 
corded in the original deed as one of the 
"proprietors ;" but he seems to have soon 
(1655) removed to Brookhaven, where he 
settled on an extensive tract of land. 

General Nathaniel Woodhull was third 
in descent from this pioneer, and, being 
the eldest son, was educated according to 
old English ideas, with the view of his 
being called upon in time to the duty of 
administering the family estate. His many 
excellent qualities and eminent ability 
soon marked him for public service, and 
he seems to have early entered upon a 
military career. There is some doubt as 
to when he entered the military service, 
but in 1758 he served as major under 
General Abercrombie in the campaign 
against Crown Point and Ticonderoga, 
and distinguished himself by his gallantry 
at Fort Frontenac (Kingston). In 1760 
he took part, as colonel of the Third 
Regiment, New York Provincials, in the 
campaign under General Amherst, which 
resulted in the conquest of Canada, and 
at the close of the campaign he returned 
to his home on Long Island with the view 
of enjoying a life of pleasant retirement. 
In 1761 he married Ruth, daughter of 
Nicoll Floyd, of Brookhaven, and sister 
of General William Floyd, one of the 
Signers of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence representing New York. 

Woodhull was the chosen representa- 
tive of his county in the convention which 
met in New York City, April 10, 1775. to 
elect delegates to the Continental Con- 



gress. On May 22, 1775, he represented 
Suffolk in the Provincial Congress, which 
then met in New York, and which body 
at once assumed complete sovereign con- 
trol over the affairs of the colony. This 
Congress, as one of its first steps, re- 
organized the militia service, dividing it 
into brigades, and in this arrangement 
the forces of Suffolk and Queens coun- 
ties were united under Colonel Woodhull 
as brigadier-general, and Jonathan Law- 
rence, representative of Queens in the 
Provincial Congress, as brigade major, 
or, as it would now be called, adjutant. 
In August, 1775, General Woodhull was 
elected president of the Provincial Con- 
gress, and was reelected to that office in 
the still more pronounced anti-British 
Congress which was elected in 1776 and 
which on July 9 of that year, as soon as 
it met for the first time, at White Plains, 
adopted the immortal Declaration of In- 
dependence, which had been signed at 
Philadelphia on the fourth, a few days 
preceding. 

On August 10, General Woodhull ob- 
tained leave of absence from Congress 
to attend to some private affairs at Mastic, 
and he was there when word was received 
that the enemy had landed troops near 
Bath and seemed to be threatening New 
York from Brooklyn. It should be re- 
membered that even then the precise Brit- 
ish plan of operations for the capture of 
New York had not become fully evident. 
Orders were at once sent to him to call 
out the entire militia of Queens county 
and part of the forces of Suffolk county 
and remove, or, when that was not prac- 
ticable, destroy stock and such other sup- 
plies as might be usful to the invaders on 
the island, or on such parts of it as were 
likely to be reached by their scouting and 
foraging parties. Accordingly, he at once 
proceeded to Jamaica to carry out his 
orders, but found that the whole force 
consisted of only about one hundred men 



234 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



led by Colonel Potter, of Suffolk, and fifty 
horsemen, representing Kings and Queens 
counties. The other forces ordered to 
support him did not, for many reasons, do 
so, and the Queens county militia had 
dwindled down to a mere skeleton organi- 
zation. Despite the weakness of his force. 
General Woodhull at once proceeded to 
carry his instructions into effect as well 
as he could, and succeeded in capturing a 
considerable quantity of cattle and other 
live stock, which he sent out of the im- 
mediate reach of the foe. In the course 
of these operations his little army steadily 
dwindled until it numbered less than one 
hundred men. The result of the battle of 
Brooklyn on August 27th completely cut 
off WoodhuU's force from the rest of the 
army, and he retired to Jamaica with the 
view of awaiting developments or new 
orders. Early on August 28th he ordered 
his men to take up a position four 
miles east of Jamaica ; but he lingered in 
that village himself until the afternoon in 
the hope of receiving some message from 
Congress or from General Washington. 
None came, and he then reluctantly and 
with a sorrowful heart proceeded to join 
his troops. Two miles east of Jamaica 
he was surrounded by a detachment of 
the Seventeenth Dragoons, and he him- 
self was seriously wounded in the head, 
and his arm slashed in several places, and 
taken prisoner. No attention was paid to 
his wounds, and still bleeding, he was 
mounted behind one of the troopers and 
taken to Jamaica. It is thought that the 
soldiers were suspicious of being sur- 
rounded by the troops which Woodhull 
had in the vicinity, not being aware as to 
their strength, and on that account hur- 
ried along with their charge more rapid- 
ly than humanity should have dictated. 
On reaching Jamaica, WoodhuU's 
wounds were dressed by a British army 
surgeon. It was found that his injuries 
were more serious than had been imag- 



ined, there being several deep gashes on 
his head, while one arm was almost sever- 
ed from the body. After resting that night 
he was removed on the following morn- 
ing to the stone church and confined there 
with several other captives. On August 
29th Woodhull and the other prisoners 
were removed to the old church at New 
Utrecht, which was being used for the 
time as a military prison. He is presumed 
— for the matter is not very clear — to have 
been detained here for several days, and 
afterward removed to the prison ship 
"Pacific," where he endured the miser 
and experienced all the ])hysical and men- 
tal torture which the evidence of most 
witnesses testifies came to all who were 
confined in those hulks. On September 
2nd he was transferred, as a "measure of 
humanity," to another hulk, the "Snow 
Mentor," and there it became only too 
evident that the lack of medical attention 
and the foul air of the transports had done 
their work, and that the General was 
dying. On September 6th he was sent for 
treatment to the house beside the church- 
jail at New Utrecht, used as a hospital, 
and there, after suffering the amputation 
of his wounded arm, he died on September 
20, his last thoughts being for the allevi- 
ation of the sufferings of those about 
him. 

General WoodhuU's only child was his 
daughter, Elizabeth, who married Henry 
Nicoll. a member of a family which had 
been settled in New York State for many 
vears. 



TALLMADGE, Benjamin, 

Revolutionary Officer. 

Perhaps no other soldier more seriously 
and persistently annoyed the British and 
their Loyalist supporters on Long Island 
during the British occupation, than did 
Lieutenant-Colonel Benjamin Tallmadge, 
a man who not alone for his intrepid 



235 



ENC\CLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



bravery, dauntless resolution, unceasing 
energy and successful accomplishments 
has won a place among the heroes of the 
Revolution, but one who acquired a de- 
gree of importance in the history of the 
nation as the custodian of Major Andre 
from the time that unfortunate victim of 
war was captured until his execution on 
October 2, 1780. Tallmadge walked with 
that ill-fated officer to the place of execu- 
tion, and, while he sternly aided in carry- 
ing out the sentence of the court-martial, 
could not help a feeling of commiseration 
for the unfortunate victim of the just laws 
of warfare. 

He was a son of Rev. Benjamin and 
Susannah (Smith) Tallmadge, and was 
born at Setauket, Long Island (in the 
town of Brookhaven), February 25, 1754. 
He very early exhibited a fondness for 
learning, and under the tuition of his 
father made such progress that at twelve 
years of age he was examined by Presi- 
dent Daggett, then on a visit to Brook- 
haven, and found well qualified to begin 
a college course. He did not enter, how- 
ever, until some years later, and was 
graduated in 1773. He soon after took 
charge of the high school at Wethersfield, 
Connecticut, where he remained until the 
affair at Lexington called him from his 
studies into the service of his country. 

On June 20, 1776, he was appointed 
lieutenant and adjutant of Colonel Ches- 
ter's Connecticut regiment, and continued 
in active service to the close of the war. 
He was engaged in the battle of Long 
Island, August 27th, 1776, and was one 
of the rearguard when the army retired 
from Brooklyn to New York. On De- 
cember 15, 1776, he was appointed by 
General Washington captain of the Sec- 
ond Regiment Light Dragoons, and on 
April of the following year was promoted 
to major. A separate detachment for 
special service was committed to him sev- 
eral times during the war, and he received 



his orders directly from the commander- 
in-chief. He participated in the battles 
of White Plains, Short Hills, Brandywine 
and Monmouth ; and at Germantown his 
detachment was at the head of General 
John Sullivan's division. By order of 
General Washington, Major Tallmadge 
repeatedly threw his dragoons across the 
principal thoroughfare to check the retreat 
of the infantry. In 1777 he opened a secret 
correspondence (for General Washington) 
with some persons in New York, and par- 
ticularly with Abraham Woodhull, of 
Setauket, which lasted through the war. 
He kept one or more boats constantly 
employed in crossing Long Island Sound 
on this business. On Lloyd's Neck, an 
elevated promontory between Hunting- 
ton and Oyster Bay, the enemy had estab- 
lished a strongly fortified post, with a 
garrison of about five hundred men. In 
the rear of this fort a band of marauders 
had encamped themselves, who, having 
boats at command, were constantly 
plundering the inhabitants along the main 
shore and robbing the small vessels in the 
Sound. This horde of banditti Major 
Tallmadge had a great desire to break up, 
and September 5, 1777, he embarked with 
one hundred and thirty men at Shippen 
Point, near Stamford, at eight o'clock in 
the evening. In about two hours they 
landed on Lloyd's Neck and proceeded to 
the attack, which was so sudden and un- 
expected that nearly the whole party of 
five hundred Tory marauders were cap- 
tured and landed in Connecticut before 
morning. Not a man was lost in the enter- 
prise. 

For the purpose of breaking up the 
whole system of intercourse between the 
enemy and the disaffected on the main, he 
was appointed to a separate command, 
consisting of the dismounted dragoons of 
his regiment and a body of horse. On 
September, 1780, he was made brevet 
lieutenant-colonel. While stationed at 



236 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



North Castle, Westchester county, New 
York, in the autumn of 1780, the attempt 
of Arnold to betray the post at West Point 
into the hands of the British was frustrat- 
ed by the capture of Major Andre, the 
British spy, who was delivered to Major 
Tallmadge and remained in his custody 
until the day of execution, October 2, 1780, 
Major Tallmadge accompanying the un- 
fortunate prisoner to the gallows, and 
witnessing the execution. Years after- 
wards Major Tallmadge wrote : "I be- 
came so deeply attached to Major Andre 
that I can remember no instance where 
my affections were so fully absorbed in 
any man. When I saw him swinging 
under the gallows, it seemed for a time 
as if I could not support it." 

In November of the same year, having 
obtained information of Fort St. George, 
which stood on a point projection into the 
South Bay as Mastic, Long Island, he 
communicated his project of its capture to 
the commander-in-chief, who, considering 
the attempt too hazardous, desired him to 
abandon it. But he finally obtained Wash- 
ington's consent. On November 21, he 
embarked eighty men in whale boats, 
crossed the Sound, and landed at Old 
Man's at nine o'clock at night. After 
leaving their boats, the troops marched 
about five miles, when, on account of the 
rain, they returned and took shelter under 
their boats, and lay concealed in the 
bushes all that night and the next day. 
At evening they started again, and at 
three o'clock the next morning were with- 
in two miles of the fort. Here Colonel 
Tallmadge divided his men into three 
parties, ordering simultaneous attacks on 
the fort at different points, and the order 
was so well executed that the three de- 
tachments arrived at nearly the same 
moment. It was a triangular enclosure 
of several acres, strongly stockaded, with 
well barricaded houses at two of the 



angles, and at the third a fort with a deep 
ditch and wall, encircled by an abattis of 
sharpened pickets projecting at an angle 
of forty-five degrees. The stockade was 
cut down, the column passed through l!u 
parade ground, and in ten minutes the 
main fort was carried by the bayonet. The 
vessels near the fort, laden with stores, 
attempted to escape, but the guns of the 
fort being brought to bear upon them, 
they were secured and burnt, as were the 
works and stores. The prisoners to the 
number of fifty-four, of whom seven were 
wounded, were marched to the boats 
under guard, while Major Tallmadge pro- 
ceeded to Corum with the remainder of 
his detachment, destroyed about three 
hundred tons of hay, and returned with 
his men to Fairfield the same evening, 
without the loss of a man. Washington, 
in a letter dated Morristown, November 
28, says : "I beg you to accept my thanks 
for your judicious planning and spirited 
execution of this business, and that you 
will offer them to the officers and men 
who shared the honor of the enterprise 
with you." For this service Major Tall- 
madge also received the thanks of Con- 
gress. He performed a similar feat on the 
night of October 9, 1781, with a small de- 
tachment under Major Prescott, capturing 
Fort Slongo, at Treadwell's Neck, near 
Smithtown. He burned the block-house 
and other combustible material, captured 
a piece of brass artillery, and returned 
safely without the loss of a man. Major 
Tallmadge planned and executed other 
attacks on Long Island, and he and his 
daring band were a source of constant 
annoyance to the enemy. 

Major Tallmadge was one of the origi- 
nal members of the Society of the Cin- 
cinnati, was several years treasurer, and 
afterwards president. After the war he 
returned to Litchfield and engaged suc- 
cessfully in mercantile pursuits. He was 



237 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



elected to Congress on December 7, 1800, 
and continued to represent his district in 
that body till 1817. After sixteen years 
of service in the national legislature he 
declined a reelection and retired with 
dignity and honor to the shades of private 
life. He was, however, by no means an 
indifferent spectator of passing events, 
but felt truly anxious for the future glory 
and welfare of his country. To public 
objects of charity and benevolence he 
always gave largely and freely, and was 
much esteemed for his social qualities. In 
1782 he bought the property in Litchfield 
that is still known as the Tallmadge place 
and was recently the summer resort of 
his granddaughter, Mrs. William Curtis 
Noyes. Yale College gave him the degree 
of A. M. in 1778. He prepared his "Me- 
moirs at the Request of his Children," 
which was privately printed by his son. 

On March 16, 1784, he married Mary, 
eldest daughter of General William Floyd, 
of Long Island (one of the signers of the 
Declaration of Independence), a lady of 
great amiability and worth, by whom he 
had issue — William Smith, Henry Floyd, 
Maria Jones, Frederick Augustus, Ben- 
jamin, Harriet Wardsworth and George 
Washington. Henry F. married Maria 
Canfield, daughter of Hon. Andrew 
Adams, of Litchfield, Connecticut ; Maria 
J. married the Hon. John P. Cushman, of 
Troy, New York, one of the circuit judges 
of the State ; Benjamin was an officer in 
the United States navy, and died at Gib- 
raltar, unmarried ; Harriet W. married 
John Delafield, Esq., of New York ; 
George W'. married Pacera M.. daughter 
of the Hon. Calvin Pease, of Warren, 
Ohio. Major Tallmadge's first wife died 
June 3, 1805, and on May 3, 1808, he mar- 
ried Maria, daughter of Joseph Hallett, 
Esq., of New York. He died at Litchfield, 
March 7, 1835. 



RIKER, Richard, 

LiavryeT, Public Official. 

Richard Riker, the third son of Samuel 
and Anna (Lawrence) Riker, was born 
at Newtown, Long Island, New York, 
September 9, 1773. He was educated 
chiefly under the superintendence of the 
Rev. Dr. Witherspoon, president of Nas- 
sau Hall, New Jersey, then entering the 
law office of the elder Jones, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1795. 

In 1802 he received the appointment 
of District Attorney of New York, which 
he held for ten years, and in 1815 he was 
made Recorder of the city, which posi- 
tion he retained with short intermissions 
till 1837, having discharged the arduous 
and responsible duties of such offices for 
nearly thirty years. "Of the eminent 
talents and profound judicial knowledge 
of the late recorder," says a contempo- 
rary, "little need be said ; they are both 
extensively known and universally ad- 
mitted. The able manner in which he 
presided for so long a period in the Court 
of Sessions in New York, and the extra- 
ordinary qualities he displayed in the dis- 
charge of his onerous and important 
duties are conclusive evidence of his 
great attainments and high moral worth. 
Perhaps by no individual at any time, 
or in any country, have the principles of 
criminal law been more firmly, yet tem- 
perately administered, and where the 
rigid rules of law have been more hap- 
pily blended with the benign precepts 
of moral justice and equity. He was 
endowed by nature with fine perceptive 
powers, and a memory more than ordi- 
narily retentive. He was, perhaps, never 
exceeded for his faculty of discharging 
business ; on the bench he was always 
attentive, patient and forbearing, both 
towards his associates and the counsel 
and witnesses. There was nothing like 
official hauteur in his deportment, yet he 



238 







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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



never stooped to official trifling, although 
he possessed a ready wit and a general 
spirit of good humor, which made his re- 
marks from the bench entertaining. His 
charges to the jury were often profound, 
and in pronouncing sentence he was 
often truly eloquent. In short, it may 
be affirmed with confidence, that few 
men, for so long a course of years, have 
occupied more of the public attention 
than Mr. Riker, or taken a more promi- 
nent part in the business and realities of 
life. His knowledge of criminal law, 
from long and constant study and ob- 
servation, was nearly universal, and his 
experience made him acquainted with all 
the cunning and devices of the human 
heart." 

His polished manners and social 
prominence won for him the title of the 
"American Chesterfield" from Fanny 
Kemble, and it clung to him through life. 
He was a warm friend of Alexander 
Hamilton, although an ardent Democrat. 
He served DeWitt Clinton as second in 
his duel with John Swartwout's brother 
Robert. Winfield, in his "History of 
Hudson County," says: "Richard Riker, 
at the time deputy attorney general of 
the State of New York, afterwards re- 
corder of the city, and Robert .Swart- 
wout, a brother of Samuel, collector of 
the port under General Jackson, fought 
a duel at Weehawken on Monday, No- 
vember 21, 1S03. The cause laj^ in a 
political quarrel — Riker being a firm 
adherent of DeW'itt Clinton, and Swart- 
wout a strong and political friend of 
Colonel Burr. Riker fell at the first fire 
from a severe wound in the right leg." 

Mr. Riker enjoyed uncommon health 
through a long life, and died in the sev- 
entieth year of his age, September 26, 
1842. To the celebrated law firm which 
he founded, his sons, D. Phoenix and 
John H. Riker, were admitted in 1826 
and in 1840 respectively, and their 



cousin, Henry L., son of John L., in 
1842. Mr. Riker married, in March, 
1807, Janette, daughter of Daniel Phoe- 
nix, Esq., treasurer of the city of New 
York. Their children were: Daniel 
Phoenix, Anna E., Elizabeth P., Janette, 
John H. and Rebecca P. 



PAYNE, John Howard, 

Author of "Home, Sweet Home." 

John Howard I'ayne, of much ability 
as dramatic author and actor, is almost 
unknown except for his "Home, Sweet 
Home," positively the most familiar of 
all home songs. 

He was born in New York City, June 
9, 1791, son of William and Sarah 
(Isaacs) Payne, and a descendant of 
Thomas Paine, who emigrated from Eng- 
land to America in 1622, and settled in 
Yarmouth, Massachusetts, in 1639. He 
was educated in Boston, Massachusetts, 
and became an assistant instructor of 
elocution with his father. He succeeded 
his brother, William Osborn Payne, as a 
clerk in a counting house in New York 
City, in 1804, and there clandestinely 
edited the "Thespian Mirror," 1805-06. 
He attended Union College, Schenectady, 
New York, 1806-08, where he edited and 
published a college paper called the 
"Pastime." After his mother's death in 
1807, he gained the consent of his father, 
who had lost all his property, to his ap- 
pearance on the stage, this having been 
his ambition from childhood. At the age 
of sixteen he made his debut as Young 
Norval at the Park Theatre, New York. 
February 24, i8og, and subsequently ap- 
peared in Boston, Providence, Baltimore 
and Philadelphia, as Zaphna in "Ma- 
homet," Octavian in "The Mountain- 
eers," Salem in "Barbarossa," Tancred in 
"Sigismonda," and Romeo, in "Romeo 
and Juliet." He traveled through the 
south and north and was everywhere 



239 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



greeted as the juvenile wonder. He ap- 
peared in New York, March i, 1811, 
playing Edgar to George F. Cooke's 
Lear; in Boston, in March, 1812, as Ham- 
Tet to Mrs. Duff's Ophelia, and then in 
Philadelphia and Baltimore. He played 
as Young Nerval in the Drury Lane 
Theatre, London, England, June 4, 1813, 
and afterward traveled through the prin- 
cipal cities of England and Ireland, re- 
tiring from the stage in 1817. He re- 
sided in France and England for nearly 
twenty years and was engaged chiefly 
as a playwright, selling his first play, 
"The Maid and the Magpie," a transla- 
tion from the French, to the managers of 
Covent Garden for £100. He wrote, 
translated and adapted more than sixty 
plays, among them: "Brutus, or the Fall 
of Tarquin," "Mahomet," "Married and 
Single," "Two Sons-in-law," "Spanish 
Husband," "Paoli," "Judge and the At- 
torney," "White Maid," "Post Chaise," 
"Mrs. Smith and Boarding School," 
"Clari, or the Maid of Milan," (in which 
occurs his song of "Home, Sweet Home," 
and through which everyone concerned 
except Payne realized a fortune, his com- 
pensation for the play being only $30), 
and "Charles II." "Brutus, or the Fall 
of Tarquin," produced at the Drury Lane 
Theatre with Edmund Kean in the title 
roll in 1818, was a success and became 
a favorite roll of Cooper, Forrest, and 
the elder Booth, as did "Charles II." 
with Charles Kemble. Of his appearance 
at this period a contemporary wrote: 
"Nature bestowed upon him a counte- 
nance of no common order, and though 
there was a roundness and fairness 
which faintly express strong, turbulent 
emotions, or display the furious pas- 
sions, these defects were supplied by an 
eye which glowed with animation and 
intelligence. A more extraordinary mix- 
ture of softness and intelligence were 
never associated in a human counte- 



nance, and his face was a true index of 
his heart." He returned to the United 
States in 1832 and received several bene- 
fits from members of the theatrical profes- 
sion in various cities, being in most 
indigent circumstances. 

He lived among the Cherokee Indians 
for a time, became an adviser of Chief 
Ross in his difficulties with the United 
States; and was arrested, with the chief, 
by the Georgia State Guard, but subse- 
quently became influential in securing 
the treaty that resulted in the removal 
of the tribe to the west. He became 
interested in several projects in the 
United States, but none of them pros- 
pered, and in 1841 he was appointed 
United States Consul to Tunis, Africa, 
from which post he was recalled in 
1845. He resided in Italy, Paris and 
London, 1845-47, returned to New York 
City in 1847, and lived at Washing- 
ton, D. C, until April, 1S51, when he 
was reappointed to Tunis, and served 
until his death, in that country, April 
9, 1852. Mr. Payne never married. 
On June 5, 1883, his body was removed 
from the cemetery of St. George at 
Tunis, where a monument had been 
erected to his memory, and reinterred in 
Oak Hill cemetery, Washington, D. C, 
while a thousand voices sang his "Home. 
Sweet Home." His portrait hangs on the 
walls of the Corcoran Art Gallery at 
Washington, a colossal bust was erected 
in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, 
and a monument marks his grave. In 
the selection of names for a place in the 
Hall of Fame for Great Americans, New 
York University, October, 1900, his name 
in "Class A, Authors and Editors," re- 
ceived four votes. See: "Life and 
Writings of John Howard Payne" by 
Gabriel Harrison (1875, second edition, 
1885), and "John Howard Payne; a 
Biographical Sketch," by Charles H. 
Brainard (1885). 
240 



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ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



DIX, John Adams, 

Scholar, Soldier, Statesman. 

Immortalized by a phrase, which will 
ring through the ages, the name of 
John Adams Dix is also illustrious in 
State and national annals for service 
rendered and fame achieved as soldier, 
scholar and statesman. He came of ex- 
cellent Puritan lineage. The name of 
Anthony Dix, the immigrant, appears in 
the Plymouth Records in 1623 — three 
years after the landing — and as a free- 
holder in that town in 1631 and at Salem 
in 1632. Ralph, a descendant was an 
early settler in Ipswich. His grandson, 
Jonathan, abode in Boscawen, New 
Hampshire, dying there in 1804, in the 
ninety-fifth year of his age. His son, 
Timothy, held a lieutenant's commission 
in the Revolutionary War and was post- 
master under Jefierson's administration; 
and his son Timothy Jr. was an active, 
enterprizing and enlightened citizen, 
representing the town in the Legisla- 
ture, lieutenant-colonel of the Fourteenth 
Infantry, United States army, in the sec- 
ond war with Great Britain and was 
killed, in the face of the enemy, at 
French Mills, November 14, 1813. His 
wife was Abigail Williams, of Amherst; 
her father was a captain in the provin- 
cial service and lost his life during the 
ill-fated expedition of General Mont- 
gomery against Quebec. Of these par- 
ents and of that honest, God-fearing and 
patriotic stock, John A. Dix was born 
July 24, 1798, at Boscawen. 

His early education was received at 
the village school, established by his 
father, who was scrupulous in obtaining 
the best teachers, some of them distin- 
guished in after life, and the boy applied 
himself diligently to his books, profiting 
notably in the elementary branches. His 
studies, preparatory to college, were pur- 
sued at an excellent academy in Sali.s- 
N Y— Vol 1—16 241 



bury and at Exeter, of which the cele- 
brated Dr. Abbott was principal. In 
181 1, he entered the College of Montreal, 
mainly with the view of perfecting him- 
self in French, of which he subsequently 
became a master ; but he remained there 
but fifteen months, owing to the outbreak 
of the War of 1812, when all Americans, 
over fourteen years of age were ordered 
to leave Canada, or to take the oath of 
allegiance to the crown. He, however, 
continued his studies in the classics and 
modern tongues, under competent in- 
structors until March, 1813, when, not 
being fifteen years old, he was appointed 
an ensign in the Fourteenth Infantry 
Regiment, United States army, and, 
within a month, was on active duty at 
Sacket's Harbor. In 1814 he was second 
lieutenant of the Twenty-first United 
States Infantry, stationed at Fort Consti- 
tution, New Hampshire, was afterward 
adjutant, and during the same year was 
transferred to an artillery regiment. 
After the war he continued in the mili- 
tary service, and was appointed aide-de- 
camp to the department commander, 
General Brown, and was stationed at 
Brownsville. 

In all his leisure time for the five or 
six years which had elapsed after leaving 
college. Captain Dix had devoted his 
spare time to the study of law, and in 
1820 he was admitted to the bar in 
Washington City. Here he remained 
until 1826. when he received his first 
diplomatic appointment, that of a special 
messenger to Copenhagen, to convey 
dispatches from the State Department. 
Previously to sailing on this mission, he 
married. May 29, 181 1, Catherine, the 
daughter of John Jordan Morgan, a 
highly cultured citizen and capitalist of 
New York, who served as Assemblyman, 
Congressman and Collector of the Port. 
Accompanied by his wife. Major Dix ful- 
filled his official duties at the Danish 



EXCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



court and the newly-wedded couple made 
an extended tour of the continent. On 
his return he was stationed at I'ortress 
Monroe, but resigned from the army 
July 20, 1828, not to return to it until he 
wore the stars of a major-general in 1861. 
Upon leaving the army, he passed the 
ensuing two years in Cooperstown, prac 
ticing law, and acting as agent for the 
lands of Mr. Morgan in that locality, 
occupying a roomy old mansion called 
"Apple Hill," amid social amenities and 
enjoyment of the fair scenery of lake and 
wooded hills. There, too, he was drawn 
into politics, with which, for half a cen- 
tury, he was identified and through 
which he was so highly honored. lie 
was actively engaged in furthering the 
election of Jackson to the presidency ; 
was chairman of the Republican commit- 
tee of Otsego county, busy with his pen 
against the Anti-AIasonic movement and 
for the colonization of the blacks, rapidly 
forging to the front among the leaders 
of his party in the State and contracting 
intimate relations with Van Buren. He 
was appointed, January 4, 1831, adjutant- 
general of the State, for which he was 
eminently qualified by his military 
knowledge and experience, removing 
immediately to Albany, where he spent 
the next twelve years in a round of 
various official duties. He acted as ad- 
jutant-general for two years and became 
Secretary of State and superintendent of 
common schools February i. 1833, con- 
tinuing as such by successive appoint- 
ments until February i, 1839. His labors 
in the department were severe and in- 
cessant, especially as related to the 
school system. The report written by 
him and presented to the Regents. Janu- 
ary 8, 1835, is monumental for the knowl- 
edge it displays and the reforms it stim- 
ulated in the establishment of higher 
courses of instruction at designated lo- 
cations, the broadening of curriculums 



and the improved equipment of the 
teaching force. Among all the able su- 
perintendents of public instruction, under 
the appointive scheme, none excels him 
in wisdom, integrity or efficiency. Inter- 
ested in advanced education, he was also 
a valuable Regent of the University of 
the State of New York from 1831 until 
1846 and again from 1876 until 1878. 

Meanwhile, he was potent in the pro- 
ceedings of the Democratic party. He 
had hardly reached Albany when he was 
welcomed to the sanctum sanctorum of 
"the Albany Regency" and became one 
of the most trusted directors of that 
regime, frequently alluded to in these 
sketches — as an adviser of its policies 
rather than a manipulator of its caucuses 
and conventions. In 1840 the election of 
General Harrison and the defeat of the 
local Democratic gubernatorial candidate 
forced him from the State department, 
and, as he had always been attracted to 
literary pursuits, he united wiih others 
in establishing and editing a paper called 
the "Northern Light," devoted to litera- 
ture, science, art and finance. In 1841 
he was elected a member of the Assem- 
bl}'. The following year he went abroad, 
traveling in southern Europe, and visit- 
ing Madeira. Between 1845 ^"^ 1849 
served in the United States Senate as 
a Democrat, wherein he championed the 
Wilmot proviso and the pressure of polit- 
ical and social influences threw him into 
the free-soil movement. In 1848 he was 
nominated by that party for Governor of 
the .State, but was defeated. This was 
a triangular contest, the Democrats be- 
ing divided and the Whigs compact, the 
W'hig candidate therefore succeeding. 
The vote stood — Fish (Whig) 218,775, 
Dix ("Barnburner" and Free Soil) 
122,811, Walworth ("Hunker") 116,811. 

Thereafter, he renewed his allegiance 
to the Democratic party and, although 
deprecating the repeal of the Missouri 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Compromise voted for Pierce in 1852, 
Buchanan in 1856 and even for Brecken- 
ridge in i860 upon the ground that "the 
thing to be thought of first was the pre- 
servation of the American Union, the 
American Constitution and the Ameri- 
can Nation." He had made his residence 
in New York City after leaving Albany 
in 1839. In 1853, at the urgent request 
of President Pierce, he acted as sub- 
treasurer at New York. In May, i860, 
he was appointed postmaster by Presi- 
dent Buchanan, his administration being 
memorable for his refusal to allow polit- 
ical assessments to be levied upon his 
employees, for certain drastic reforms 
and, generally, for bringing order out of 
chaos in an office which had been shame- 
fully mismanaged by his predecessor. 
As the portents of Civil War became 
alarming in the winter of i860, Dix de- 
clared himself emphatically for the pres- 
ervation of the Union. 

In January, 1861, Buchanan was forced 
to remodel his cabinet, placing the reins 
in the hands of men ready to defend the 
Constitution and oppose secession. Dix 
was appointed Secretary of the Treasury 
at the imperative demand of the capital- 
ists and bankers of New York, refusing 
to furnish funds for the needs of the 
government unless this were done. Dix 
assumed his portfolio on the fifteenth of 
the month, the funds were at once forth- 
coming and the treasury placed in a 
sound condition. Two weeks later, he 
issued to the Collector of the Port of 
New Orleans his renowned order, occa- 
sioned by the refusal of Captain Bresh- 
wood of the revenue cutter "McClelland" 
to deliver her in New York to save her 
from seizure by the Confederate authori- 
ties. Here it is in full : 

Treasury Dep.\rtment, January 29, 1861. 
Tell Lieutenant Caldwell to arrest Captain 
Breshwood, assume command of the cutter and 
obey the order I gave through you. If Captain 



Breshwood, after arrest, undertakes to interfere 
with the command of the cutter, tell Lieutenant 
Caldwell to consider him a mutineer and treat 
him accordingly. // any one attempts to haul 
doun the American flag, shoot him on the spot. 

John A. Uix. 
Secretary of the Treasury. 

On the inauguration of President 
Lincoln, Secretary Dix returned to New 
York, where he immediately took an 
active part in all local preparations for 
the war. He was the first president of 
the Union Defence Committee, and pre- 
sided at the Union Square Meeting, 
April 24, 1861. He organized and sent 
to the front seventeen regiments, and 
was appointed one of the four major- 
generals cominanding New York State 
troops. The following June he received 
his commission as major-general of vol- 
unteers, and was put in command of the 
Department of Maryland, and here his 
energetic and judicious course had much 
to do with preventing Maryland and Bal- 
timore from going over to the Confeder- 
ate cause. In 1862 General Dix was in 
command at Fortress Monroe, and in 
1863 was appointed to the command of 
the Department of the East, with head- 
quarters at New York, where he remain- 
ed until the close of the war. In 1866 
he was appointed Naval Officer of the 
Port of New York, and later in the same 
year received the appointment of Minis- 
ter to France. While in Paris he made 
himself very popular, and gratified both 
Americans and foreigners by his open- 
hearted hospitality. In 1872 he ran for 
Governor of the State of New York on 
the Republican ticket, and was elected 
by a majority of 53,000. He was renomi- 
nated in 1874, but was defeated for 
reasons not necessary to detail. General 
Dix was a vestryman of Trinity Church 
Corporation, and in 1872 was comptroller 
of the same body. He was very promi- 
nent in the Episcopal church, and was a 



243 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



delegate to the Convention of the Dio- 
cese of New York, and deputy to the 
General Convention of the Church. In 
1853 he was president of the Mississippi 
and Missouri Railroad Company, and in 
1863 and for five years thereafter was 
president of the Union Pacific Railroad 
Company. In 1872, during the troubles 
in the Erie Railway Company, he was 
called in to act as president, a position 
which he held for a few months. 

He was a man of fine education and 
thorough culture, a remarkable linguist, 
and an excellent classical scholar. An 
instance in this direction was his trans- 
lation of the "Dies Irae," which was 
privately printed in 1863, and revised in 
a new edition in 1875, and was consider- 
ed one of the best translations ever made 
of that remarkable poem. General Dix 
wrote: "A Winter in Madeira and a 
Summer in Spain and Florence," being 
a record of his travels in those places ; 
"Speeches and Occasional Addresses," 
two volumes, 1864 ; and numerous re- 
ports and pamphlets on different sub- 
jects. His memoirs were written by his 
son, Rev. Morgan Dix, D. D., D. C. L., 
and published in 1883, a quarto edition, 
privately printed, being issued at the 
same time. General Dix was one of the 
original trustees of the Astor Library, 
having been appointed to that position 
by John Jacob Astor. He was univer- 
sally esteemed not only as a man of 
established probity, but also as one pos- 
sessing remarkable judicial and adminis- 
trative powers, and whose clear compre- 
hension of affairs rendered him a most 
valuable authority and adviser in time 
of public confusion or peril. He died in 
New York City, April 21, 1879. He had 
seven children, two of whom survived 
him, one of these being the Rev. Morgan 
Dix, D. D., D. C. L., the eminent rector 
of Trinity Church, for nearly fifty years. 
Another son, Charles Temple, on his 



father's staff during the war and an artist 
of rare promise, died in Rome, March 
II, 1S73, aged thirty-five years. 



Ulster 
1736. 



CLINTON, James, 

Revolutionary Soldier. 

James Clinton was born in 
county, New York, August 9, 
the third son of Colonel Charles Clin- 
ton, who emigrated from Ireland to 
America late in the seventeenth century, 
and founded a family of remarkable 
celebrity. He was a brother of George 
Clinton, Governor of the State of New 
York, and the father of DeWitt Clinton, 
also Governor of New York. 

James Clinton received an excellent 
education. He was gifted with a fine 
physique, and was endowed with natural 
courage and unusual presence of mind. 
Even at an early age his inclinations 
were toward a military life. He was a 
member of the Ulster county militia, and 
became its lieutenant-colonel before the 
Revolutionary War. In 1756, when only 
twenty years of age, he was a captain 
under Colonel P>radstreet, and distin- 
guished himself in the attack on Fort 
Frontenac. He also rendered important 
service by the capture of a sloop-of-war 
on Lake Ontario. At the close of the 
war he married Mary DeWitt, and re- 
tired to private life. On June 30, 1775, 
however, the Continental Congress 
called Clinton into service again, and he 
was appointed colonel of the Third New 
York Regiment, which formed a part of 
General Montgomery's army in the ill- 
fated invasion of Canada. In August, 

1776, Clinton was appointed a brigadier- 
general in the army of the United States, 
and, during most of the war was in com- 
mand of New York troops. In October. 

1777, he held Fort Clinton, which formed 
a most important part of the defenses 
of the Hudson river. There he was 



244 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



attacked by Sir Henry Clinton, with a 
large force which cooperated with the 
English ships of war on the river. Clin- 
ton had only about five hundred men 
with him, while the British land force 
numbered four thousand. After a most 
gallant resistance the forts were carried 
by storm. General Clinton escaped with 
difficulty, after being severely wounded 
by a bayonet thrust in the thigh. He 
slid down a steep precipice into a ravine, 
thence gained the shelter of some woods, 
and finally reached his house at Little 
Britain, Orange county, some sixteen 
miles from the fort, where he remained, 
nursing his wound, until the expedition 
under General Sullivan was sent into the 
Indian country, where he joined it. The 
Indians were defeated in a fierce engage- 
ment at Newtown (now Elmira, New 
York), their settlements were destroyed, 
and they fled to the British fortress of 
Niagara. On General Clinton's return 
he was stationed at Albany, and he re- 
mained there until near the close of the 
war. He was, however, with Washing- 
ton at Yorktown, holding a command 
under General Lincoln, and was present 
at the evacuation of New York by the 
British. After the war, General Clin- 
ton was appointed a commissioner to 
adjust the boundary line between Penn- 
sylvania and New York, and he also rep- 
resented his native county in the State 
Assembly, and in the convention which 
adopted the constitution of the United 
States. Finally, he was State Senator 
from the middle district of the State. 
He died December 22, 1812, in Orange 
county, New York. 



PECK, Elisha, 

Early Manufacturer. 

Elisha Peck, son of Elisha and Freelove 
(Knight) Peck, was born March 4, 1789, 
in Lenox, Massachusetts, and died in 



185 1, at his residence on Fourth street, 
New York City. He was reared upon the 
farm, and early in life went to Berlin, 
Connecticut, where he became interested 
in the manufacture of metal ware. Later 
he removed to New York City and there 
formed an association with Anson G. 
Phelps, under the firm name of Peck & 
Phelps, for dealing in metals. He im- 
mediately proceeded to Liverpool, where 
he opened a foreign branch of the busi- 
ness and continued fourteen years. In 
August, 1830, he returned to America, 
bringing with him the machinery for a 
rolling mill. Mr. Phelps had already 
purchased land and a water privilege on 
Minisceongo creek, in Rockland county. 
New York, where they established a roll- 
ing mill, wire works and kindred indus- 
tries. A village sprang up about these 
mills, which was named Samsondale by 
Mr. Peck, in honor of the vessel which 
brought him from Liverpool in 1830. 
Here was manufactured what was known 
as the E. P. brand sheet iron, which had 
a high reputation among dealers. The 
partnership between Messrs. Peck and 
Phelps was dissolved, and Mr. Peck re- 
tained the shops at Samsondale, while 
Mr. Phelps took the mercantile business 
in New York. About this time Mr. Peck 
erected a screw factory and chemical 
works, where was carried on chiefly the 
production of sulphuric acid. In 1833 he 
opened a new road, which is now the 
thoroughfare from Minisceongo creek to 
the railroad station at Haverstraw. The 
new plants were established on what was 
known as the .Allison farm, which Mr. 
Peck purchased for that purpose, and 
lemoved the old mansion, in whose place 
he erected a handsome residence. His 
eldest son, Shubael, who possessed an 
inventive mind and was of much assist- 
ance to his father, was killed by the 
explosion of a boiler in a vessel which 
he was navigating on the Hudson. After 

245 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



this a younger son, John Peck, became 
his father's partner. About 1842 the in- 
dustries began to feel the injurious ef- 
fects of changes in the tariff, and the 
mills were closed. They were reopened 
during the Civil War and did a prosper- 
ous business for a time, and have since 
been occupied by various industries. Mr. 
Peck was a man of keen foresight and 
great executive ability, and became in- 
terested in various large enterprises. He 
was one of the original promoters of the 
Somerville & Easton railroad, and of the 
Elizabeth & Easton, both of which be- 
came part of the New Jersey Central 
system, in which Mr. Peck was a large 
stockholder and director. At one time 
he was the principal owner of the Provi- 
dence railroad, which under his direction 
as president proved to be one of the most 
profitable enterprises of the kind in this 
section of the Union. He was a director 
of the Hudson River railroad, and when 
he retired from the board resolutions of 
regret were passed by his contempora- 
ries. He was interested in various other 
industries, and it is a remarkable fact 
that none of those in which he invested 
ever proved unprofitable. Mr. Peck was 
a man of genial nature and very liberal, 
and when the Presbyterian church was 
established at Samsondale, he donated 
the lot upon which its house of worship 
was located, and also contributed gener- 
ously in cash toward its completion. 

He married, June 30, 1814, Chloe, 
daughter of Shubael Pattison, of Berlin, 
Connecticut. 



WADSWORTH, James S., 

Civil AVar Soldier, Landed Proprietor. 

General James Samuel Wadsworth, 
son of James and Naomi (Wolcott) 
Wadsworth, was born in Geneseo, New 
York, October 30, 1808, and was killed 
at the battle in the Wilderness, May 8, 
1864. 



He was a member of the Wadsworth 
family of Connecticut. His father, born 
in that State, after graduating from Yale 
College, removed to New York, and with 
his brother William founded the town of 
Geneseo. James Wadsworth was active- 
ly interested in the promotion of educa- 
tion, and employed lecturers in that be- 
half; he gave premiums to towns estab- 
lishing libraries ; advocated the normal 
school idea in 181 1; established in his 
home town a library and institute for 
scientific studies, to which he gave an 
endowment fund of $10,000: and in 1858 
procured the enactment of a school 
library law. He was the owner of vast 
tracts of land, and in the sale of same he 
conditioned that one hundred and twenty- 
five acres in every township should be 
gratuitously set aside for a school, and a 
like quantity for a church. 

James Samuel Wadsworth in his early 
years gave promise of what his manhood 
would be. Although never quarrelsome, 
he was ever ready to resent insult or resist 
oppression. His friendships were fixed 
and unwavering ; and to serve a friend he 
would risk person or property. He re- 
sided all his lifetime on the Wadsworth 
homestead property where he was born, 
nnd his domestic relations were most 
happy. His hospitality was unbounded 
and as a host he was the possessor of a 
pleasing faculty for entertaining, his 
conversation being always animated, 
amusing and instructive. He lived a 
truly Christian life, although not a pro- 
fessor of religion, and loved well his fel- 
lOwmen. It was his delight to benefit 
the human family so far as coming with- 
in his field, and he was especially liberal 
to his numerous tenants when adversity 
overtook them in the rearing of stock or 
crops. Highly educated, he possessed all 
the qualities which make men good and 
useful. Many remember him as a man 
of strictest sincerity in words and deeds. 



246 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



genial, cordial and affable to men in all 
walks of life , frank of expression, yet 
fearing to oiifend. His character, while 
preeminently one of integrity, coupled 
vigorous common sense with ready 
judgment and tact. None ever connected 
his name with an act of injustice, or of 
anything approaching oppression in his 
dealings, public or private. 

He was educated at Hamilton College 
and Harvard University, and then stud- 
ied law at Yale, completing his work in 
this line in the office of Daniel Webster, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1833. He 
was president of the State .Agricultural 
Society in 1842 ; was a participant in the 
notable free-soil movement in 1848; a 
Presidential elector on the Republican 
ticket in 1856 and i860; was a delegate 
to the Peace Conference of February, 
1861 : and was the Republican candidate 
for Governor in the memorable campaign 
of 1862. He was a Regent of the Univer- 
sity of New York from 1844 until his 
death. 

The early part of 1861 found Mr. 
Wadsworth at his temporary home in 
New York City. The President had 
called for troops to defend the seat of 
government, for the national treasury 
had suffered and the navy was sent 
abroad, leaving it unprotected. With his 
own purse and credit he came to the 
country's rescue, furnishing a vessel with 
a cargo of army supplies, and going with 
it to Annapolis, where he personally su- 
perintended its distribution among the 
troops summoned to protect Washing- 
ton. He then offered his services in any 
capacity in which he might be useful, 
and from that time abandoned his private 
affairs. As a volunteer aide to General 
McDowell, he engaged in the first battle 
of Bull Run, and by his courage retrieved 
much of the disaster. In July, 1861, he 
was appointed a brigadier-general, and 
assigned to a command in the Army of 



the Potomac. In March, 1862, he was 
ordered to Washington to be military 
governor of the city, serving thus for nine 
months. At his own request, in Decem- 
ber, 1862, he was ordered to the field, 
reporting to Major-General Reynolds, 
commanding the First Corps, and was 
assigned to the command of his first 
division, which participated in the battle 
of Chancellorsville. .\t the battle of 
Gettysburg, his was the first infantry 
division engaged, fighting valiantly from 
nine in the morning until four in the 
afternoon, in the fiercest of that memor- 
able struggle. His exploits on the field 
there i)laced him second to none in the 
entire army. 

General Wadsworth took an active 
part in the arrangements of the cam- 
paign of General Grant in the spring of 
1864 against the Virginia army under 
General Lee, and he was charged with 
a leading command. A very decisive 
work lay before the Army of the Poto- 
mac. The country was in bad condition, 
anxiously awaiting a change from the 
serious reverses. He responded to this 
feeling with determination. He was in 
command of the Fourth Division, Fifth 
Corps. He crossed the Rapidan on May 
4th, and on the following evening his 
command was engaged for several hours 
losing heavily. On the morning of the 
6th, General Winfield Scott Hancock 
ordered him into action on the right of 
the corps. He made several charges 
with his division, and finally carried an 
important position, but was unable to 
hold it. the enemy coming on in superior 
numbers. The fighting had commenced 
at daylight, and at eight o'clock was ter- 
rific. General Hancock consulted with 
him. and allotted six brigades to carry 
a certain position. Three or four assaults 
were made without success, and Wads- 
worth's horse was killed under him. At 
eleven o'clock Hancock ordered a ces- 



247 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



sation of the terrible task, and the enemy 
was indisposed to attack. At noon Long- 
street precipitated his corps on General 
Wadsworth's left, creating confusion. He 
was worried by this, and immediately 
threw his division forward, and while 
thus trying to hold his line was mortally 
wounded. The enemy was charging at 
the time, and gained possession of the 
ground before the general could be 
moved. He was carried to the rebel hos- 
pital that Friday afternoon, and lived 
until Sunday morning. His undaunted 
bravery is proved by three horses being 
shot and killed beneath him on that 
single morning. He was buried at 
Geneseo, and a monument erected. Hor- 
ace Greeley said of him : "The country's 
salvation claimed no nobler sacrifice than 
that of James S. Wadsworth." 

General James Samuel Wadsworth 
married Mary Craig Wharton. Of their 
children, three sons acquitted themselves 
well during the Civil War. Charles 
Frederick, born at Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania, in 1835, was attached to the De- 
partment of the Gulf, serving as captain 
under General Banks, and participating 
in the attack on Port Hudson. Craig 
Wharton, born in 1841, was attached to 
his father's staff for a time, afterwards 
holding responsible and hazardous posi- 
tions in other departments. James Wol- 
cott, born in Philadelphia, October 16. 
1846, after the death of his father, being 
then seventeen years old. entered the 
army as aide-de-camp on the stalif of 
General Gouverneur Kemble Warren, 
commanding the Fifth \rmy Corps of 
the Army of the Potomac, and continued 
in active service until the close of the 
rebellion, and subsequently became a 
member of Congress. James \\'olcott 
Wadsworth, a grandson of General 
Wadsworth, at the time of his graduation 
from Yale, the Spanish-.American War 
having begun, unlisted in Battery A. 



Pennsylvania Light Artillery, one of the 
batteries of General Fred Dent Grant's 
brigade which saw service in Porto Rico. 
At the termination of the war he was dis- 
charged from the volunteer service ; but 
early in 1899 rnade a voyage with three 
classmates to the Philippines, and saw 
active service there. 



De LANCEY, William Heathcote. 

Educator, Prelate. 

William Heathcote De Lancey was a 
grandson of Chief Justice De Lancey, of 
New York, and was born at Mamaro- 
neck. New York, October S, 1797. 

He was graduated from Yale College 
in 1817, and two years later entered the 
Episcopal ministry after studying the- 
ology imder Bishop Hobart, of New- 
York. He was chosen by the vestry of 
Trinity Church, New York, to fill a 
vacancy for three months. In 1821 he 
was called to St. Thomas's Church, Ma- 
maroneck, a parish he had formed while 
in Yale, with the aid of his father, Major 
De Lancey, and Peter Munro. In 1822 
Mr. De Lancey, by invitation of Bishop 
White, became the latter's personal as- 
sistant in the three united churches of 
Christ Church, St. Peter's and St. 
James's, in Philadelphia, and was chosen 
one of the assistant rectors of the parish. 
No man had the confidence of the vener- 
able Bishop \\'hite so much as Mr. De 
Lancey, whom the venerable bishop 
called his adopted son, and no man knew 
directly from that distinguished prelate 
so many of the details of the history of 
the inception and progress of the Epis- 
copal church in America up to 1830. In 
1827 he declined the rectorship of St. 
Thomas's Church, New York. Yale Col- 
lege gave him the degree of D. D. in 
1827, he being the youngest person upon 
whom, up to that time, that honor had 
been conferred. In 1828, at the age of 



248 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



thirty, he was elected provost of the 
University of Pennsylvania, and in that 
position he displayed remarkable ability ; 
a spirit of progress pervaded the univer- 
sity during his administration of six 
years and the number of students was 
greatly increased. Among the noted 
graduates during his administration 
were : George Sharswood, Chief Justice 
of Pennsylvania, and author of an edi- 
tion of "Blackstone's Commentaries;" 
Edward Miller, chief engineer of the 
Pennsylvania railroad ; James Curtis 
Boothe, who in 1836 established the first 
laboratory in the United States for in- 
struction in chemistr}^ and was president 
of the American Chemical Society ; John 
Fries Frazer, who became vice-provost 
of the University, and one of the found- 
ers of the National Academy of Sciences ; 
George A. Kicknell, M. C, from In- 
diana ; Charles E. Lex, an able lawyer of 
Philadelphia; William T. Otto, United 
States Supreme Court Reporter ; John 
W. Wallace, Pennsylvania Supreme 
Court Reporter; J. Clark Hare, Presi- 
dent-Judge of the Philadelphia courts, 
and others. Dr. De Lancey was chosen 
rector of St. Peter's Church, Philadel- 
phia, in 1833 and the next year resigned 
the office of provost. 

In 1839 he was chosen the first bishop 
of the diocese of Western New York. 
He was consecrated at Auburn by 
Bishop Griswold, of Connecticut, and re- 
sided at Geneva during his episcopate. 
In 1852 Bishop De Lancey and the 
Bishop of Michigan were sent by the 
House of Bishops as delegates to the 
celebration in London of the 150th anni- 
versary of the Society for the Propaga- 
tion of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, in 
response to an invitation from the Arch- 
bishop of Canterbury, this being the first 
time American bishops took part offi- 
cially with Anglican bishops in the 
public service in St. Paul's Cathedral 



and Westminster Abbey. On the occa- 
sion of this visit to England, the Univer- 
sity of Oxford conferred upon Bishop De 
Lancey the degree of D. C. L. The de- 
gree of LL. D. was given him by Union 
College in 1849. The legislation of the 
Episcopal church in the United States 
bears the impress of his judgment. He 
secured a large endowment for Hobart 
College at Geneva, New York, from the 
vestry of Trinity Church, New York. 
He also aided in founding De Vaux Col- 
lege, at Niagara, and the Training 
School at Geneva. For the latter he 
raised all the funds himself, and on the 
grounds surrounding it is a handsome 
church erected to his memory by friends 
in Philadelphia and western New York. 
Bishop De Lancey was an eloquent and 
forcible speaker and as a parliamentarian 
was unequaled among his clerical 
brethren. 

He was married to Frances, daughter 
of Peter Nay Munro. His son, Edward 
Floyd De Lancey (born in Mamaroneck, 
New York, October 23, 181 1), was the 
author of "New York During the Revo- 
lution" and many other valuable his- 
torical works. I'.ishop De Lancey died 
at Geneva, New York, April 5, 1865. 



DELAFIELD. Major Joseph, 

Soldier, Useful Citizen. 

-Major Joseph Delafield, son of John 
and .Ann (llallett) Delafield, was born in 
New York City, .'\ugust 22, 1790. and 
died at his home, Xo. 475 Fifth avenue. 
New York City, I'ebruary 12. 1875. 

His early years were passed in New 
York and at Sunswick, on the cast bank 
of the East river, opposite Blackwell's 
Island, the country seat of his father. 
He received his preliminary education 
at the private school of Rev. Mr. Smith, 
in Pine street, and later attended a 
school in Stamford, Connecticut. Among 



249 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



his fellow students were Herman Le- 
Roy, M. and J. Gouverneur, William 
Wilkes and William B. Astor. Leaving 
Stamford, he entered the school of Pro- 
fessor Davis at Yale, and when fourteen 
became a student at that college. He 
was graduated in 1808, with the degree 
of B. A., and thereupon began to read 
law in the office of Josiah Ogden lioflf- 
man. He was admitted to practice in 
the Supreme Court of New York State, 
October 29, 181 1. His interest and ac- 
tivities extended beyond the field of law. 
When a student, he had received a com- 
mission as lieutenant in the Fifth Regi- 
ment, First Brigade, New York State 
Militia. On February 4, 1812, he was 
promoted to the rank of captain. Upon 
the declaration of war against (ireat 
Britain, in the spring of that year, he 
raised a full company of volunteers from 
the city and river counties, and with 
these joined the command of Colonel 
Hawkins, whose regiment of volunteers 
was ordered to Sandy Hook, where it re- 
mained one year, after which time Cap- 
tain Delafield. with others, recruited a 
regiment for the regular army, known 
as the Forty-si.xth Infantry, of which he 
was made major. One of the first acts 
of the organizers was to ontain commis- 
sions from the national government. 
This regiment was stationed at Govern- 
or's Island and elsewhere near New York 
City. In 1817 he was attached to the 
commission appointed under the treaty 
of Ghent for the settlement of the north- 
western boundary. He was appointed 
full agent under the sixth and seventh 
articles of the treaty, on January i, 1821, 
a post he retained until June, 1828. A 
difiference arose between Messrs. Porter 
and Hawkins, the American commis- 
sioners, with the result that Major Dela- 
field had sole command of the work in 
the field. During this period he spent his 



summers on the northwestern border, 
establishing the line between St. Regis 
on the St. Lawrence and the Lake of the 
Woods. His famous collection of min- 
erals was commenced during these ex- 
Dcditions. His winters were ijassed in 
New York and Washington. During his 
long and active career, he served as 
president of the Lyceum of Natural His- 
tory of New York, later known as the 
Academy of Sciences, from 1827 to 1866; 
was vestryman of Trinity Church ; trus- 
tee of the College of Physicians and Sur- 
geons ; of the Society Library ; of the 
Eye and Ear Infirmary, and of other 
institutions. In 1829 he purchased and 
laid out a farm of about two hundred 
and fifty acres, located between Spuyten 
Duyvil and Yonkers, on the banks of the 
Hudson, and named it Fieldston, after a 
family seat in Ireland. He built a lime 
kiln there in 1830, which was the first in 
this country constructed after the French 
model. It was on this farm that he built 
his summer home, which overlooked the 
Hudson at one of its most ])icturesque 
spots. 

Major Joseph Delafield married, in 
New York City, December 12, 1833, 
Julia Livingston, who was born at 
Staatsburg, New York. September 15, 
tSoi, and died at Rhinebeck, New York, 
June 23, 1882. She was the eldest daugh- 
ter of Maturin and Margaret (Lewis) 
Livingston, of Staatsburg, New York, 
her mother being the only child of 
General Morgan Lewis, who was on 
General W^ashington's stafif, was present 
at old Saratoga (Schuylerville, New 
York) when General Burgoyne surrend- 
ered, October 17, 1777, and later was 
Governor of New York State, and she 
was the granddaughter of Francis Lewis, 
a signer of the Declaration of Independ- 
ence. 



250 




cX/u^ M?'<^/^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



WRIGHT, Silas, Jr., 

Legislator, Executive, Statesman. 

In the history of the State, no name 
looms larger than that of Silas Wright 
Jr. He was great as a statesman, great 
as a patriot and even greater as a man 
in the ennobling simplicity of his char- 
acter. He was born in Amherst, Massa- 
chusetts, May 24, 1795, a descendant of 
Samuel Wright, who came to Boston in 
1630, and to Northampton, Massachu- 
setts, in 1654, and son of Silas Wright, 
a farmer, tanner and shoemaker, who in 
1796 removed to Weybridge, Addison 
county, Vermont, and later sat in the 
Legislature of that State. 

Silas Wright Jr. was reared as a farm- 
er's son and his education was begun at 
the district school, among the green hills 
of his adopted State. At the age of four- 
teen he entered the academy at Middle- 
bury and aided by his father, trustful in 
his promise, and by teaching in the 
winter, made his way through Middle- 
bury College, then, as always, a small, 
but thorough institution, and was gradu- 
ated therefrom in 181 5. In college, he 
maintained a high character for strength 
of intellect, retentive memory and con- 
sistent application ; and especially for his 
skill as a debater as also for the tenacity 
of his political sentiments, of the Jeffer- 
sonian school, pronouncedly declared in 
academic discussions, he being one of 
four Republicans in a class of thirty. 
He studied law at Sandy Hill, Washing- 
ton county, at first with Henry C. Alar- 
tindale and later with Roger Skinner, 
both eminent in law and politics ; was 
admitted to the bar in 1819 and settled in 
Canton, St. Lawrence county, at the so- 
licitation of Medad Moody, a former 
resident of Weybridge, whose daughter, 
Clarissa, he married in September, 1833 
— a union, though not blessed with chil- 
dren, fruitful in love and happiness. 



His law practice was, if not specially 
remunerative, remarkable for the trust 
reposed in him by his clients, instinct 
with common sense and equit}-, discour- 
aging, rather than stimulating, litigation; 
and, within two years, it was generally 
conceded that he had no superior as an 
advocate in the region. Had he remained 
actively at the bar, he would certainly 
have risen to distinction therein, but he 
was deflected therefrom by his public 
career of great national import. "From 
the time when he first became a resident 
of Canton, till the close of his life, he 
enjoyed a personal consideration and 
popularity, among his neighbors and fel- 
low-citizens, almost without parallel. He 
was indebted for this, not more to the 
affability of his disposition, than to the 
simplicity and practicability of his life. 
He possessed popular manners — not the 
arts and tricks of the demagogue — but 
those natural traits which establish feel- 
ings of sympathy between their possessor 
and those brouglit within the sphere of 
his influence. There was no affectation 
about him. He was the friend and com- 
panion of all." (Jenkins's "Governors of 
New York" page 733). 

He was made surrogate in 1821, held 
other local offices, and also served as 
postmaster. He passed through numer- 
ous militia grades, and in 1827 was com- 
missioned brigadier-general. Becoming 
prominent in politics, in 1823 his friends, 
without his knowledge, procured his 
unanimous nomination by the Republi- 
cans of the Fourth Senatorial District. 
His election to the State Senate followed, 
his extraordinary local personal popular- 
ity being evinced in that out of a total 
of 1400 votes in his county he received 
all but twenty and in the town of Can- 
ton all except his own. In the Senate 
he gained much repute as a legislator 
and debater; he strongly opposed De- 
Witt Clinton, and was a prime factor in 



251 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the removal of that strong figure from 
his position as canal commissioner — a 
political blunder. In 1826 he was elected 
to Congress, and was placed upon a com- 
mittee which had important work in re- 
lation to the tariff; reelected in 1828 he 
was a prime leader in the tariff bill of 
that year, which in later life he consider- 
ed too high ; he also favored a movement 
looking to the abolition of slavery in the 
District of Columbia. He resigned his 
seat in Congress in January, 1829, to 
accept the election by the Legislature as 
comptroller to which he was reelected in 
1832. His administration was character- 
ized by a thorough knowledge of the 
financial resources of the State, the 
punctual, exact and courteous transaction 
of business and by scrupulous integrity, 
lie favored the prompt extinguishment 
of the public debt and opposed the con- 
struction of lateral canals until, at least, 
surplus revenues should be available 
therefor. 

He resigned as Comptroller to become 
United States Senator, January 4, 1833, 
liis election being preceded by his unani- 
mous nomination by the Democratic 
caucus. He was reelected in 1837, hav- 
ing in the meantime sat in the Demo- 
cratic State Conventions of 1830 and 
1832, and in the National Convention 
which nominated Jackson and Van 
P<uren. In the Senate he supported 
Clay's Compromise Bill ; and defended 
most of President Jackson's measures, 
including the removal of the United 
States Bank deposits, and opposed the 
rechartering of the bank. Webster com- 
plimented him, and Benton called him 
"the Cato of the Senate." In 1835 he 
served on the finance committee, and in 
the National Convention promoted the 
nomination of his friend Van Buren, 
who was materially guided by his advice. 
He strove to prepare the minds of his 
constituents for the independent treas- 



ury scheme by two notable articles in the 
"St. Lawrence Republican," and steadily 
supported it in the Senate. He sustained 
the bankrupt bill urged by Van Buren, 
and opposed that favored by President 
Tyler, as also the handing over of sur- 
plus Federal revenue to the States, and 
the annexation of Texas in 1838 and 1844. 
He voted for the tariff of 1842; kept a 
suspicious attitude toward Tyler, though 
approving the bank vetoes, and with- 
stood Calhoun's efforts to close the mails 
to "incendiary matter" and to disregard 
petitions against slavery in the district. 
He was elected to the Senate for a third 
term February 7, 1843. Throughout his 
Senatorial service, he was sincerely re- 
spected by his colleagues, with a com- 
manding voice in their deliberations. 
His speech, never declamatory, was 
thoroughly prepared, with Saxon 
strength, clear and logical. He was cool, 
collected and urbane on the floor, never 
appealing to passion or prejudice. He 
was democracy incarnate and upright- 
ness personified ; and, in a body, notably 
brilliant in its composition during his 
tenure, was a "bright, particular star." 

He was never more solid in the esteem 
of party and the republic than in the 
opening days of 1844. He had just been 
reelected to the Senate for a full term. 
In January he had declined the appoint- 
ment of Associate Justice of the Supreme 
Court tendered him by President Tyler 
and later the unanimous nomination of 
the Democratic National Convention at 
Baltimore for the Vice-Presidency ; but at 
the Democratic State Convention at 
Syracuse in September all eyes were 
turned toward him, as the mariner looks 
across the storm-tossed waters to catch 
the gleam of Eddystone light, to rescue 
ihe party in the pivotal state: and, upon 
the formal ballot, he was unanimously 
selected as its candidate for Governor. 
Constrained by an imperative sense of 



^52 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



duty, he made the sacrifice, although he 
much preferred the Senate, as his proper 
field, with its calm and dignity. After i 
spirited canvass, with Millard Fillmore, 
ihen exceedingly strong, as the oppos- 
ing Whig candidate, the Senator was 
chosen by a plurality of 10,000, the Polk 
electoral ticket receiving 5,000. Making 
due allowance for Clay's unfortunate 
Texas letter and the Birney defection, the 
personality of Wright "saved the day" for 
the Democracy as surely as Blucher's 
advent at Ligny assured the victory at 
Waterloo. 

Governor Wright's term, although ad- 
vantaging the State, was a stormy one 
politically. His party was torn by fac- 
tional dissensions, and the State dis- 
tracted by the anti-rent troubles. The 
latter he suppressed manfully, quelling 
an insurrection in Delaware county, and 
refusing to pardon offenders against the 
law. But he was unequal to the task of 
harmonizing and reorganizing the party, 
as Van Buren had done in 1820 and as 
Bouck failed to do in 1842. According 
to one of his biographers, "he understood 
men, but not how to use them; he was a 
statesman, not a managing politician— 
Cato, not Caesar." The middle course 
which he pursued satisfied neither fac- 
tion ; his opposition to a Constitutional 
Convention was in the interest of the 
"Hunkers," or Conservatives, and his 
veto of the appropriation for canals in 
that of the "Barnburners." Though he 
sternly put down and punished the anti- 
rent riots, his message of 1846 advised 
the omission from future leases of dis- 
tress for rent, and suggested other meas- 
ures of relief. He was renominated, but 
defeated, and at the end of 1846 found him- 
self out of office for the first time since the 
outset of his career. He retired to his 
farm in Canton. Many anecdotes of his 
interest and labors in agriculture, em- 
phasizing his democratic spirit, are ex- 



tant. His last prepared address, read by 
his friend, John A. Dix, after his death 
before the State Agricultural Society, in 
the fall of 1847, was an able production 
upon an agricultural theme. In the 
spring of that year he put himself on 
record as in sympathy with the Wilmot 
proviso and in favor of harbor improve- 
ments on the lakes. There is no doubt 
that had his life been spared, he would 
have ranged himself with the Republi- 
cans for the restriction of the slave 
power, within constitutional limitations, 
and he might have had still further prefer- 
ment ; but he died prematurely of an at- 
tack of heart disease, at Canton, August 
27, 1847, 3t the age of fifty-two years, 
universally lamented. His life has been 
written by Jabez D. Hammond, John S. 
Jenkins and Ransom H. Gillett (two 
volumes folio). 



RAYMOND, Henry, 

Journalist and Statesman. 

Henry Jarvis Raymond was born at 
Lima, New York, January 24, 1820. He 
was brought up on his father's farm ; at 
the age of sixteen taught a country 
school, and was graduated at the Univer- 
sity of Vermont in 1840. Proceeding at 
once to New York City, he began the 
study of law, maintaining himself in part 
by teaching in a young ladies' seminary. 
Soon coming into contact with Horace 
Greeley, he began to write for the press, 
and when the New York "Tribune" was 
established in April, 184 1, Raymond was 
associated with the enterprise, later 
becoming its managing editor. He de- 
veloped great rapidity and skill as a re- 
porter, employing a species of shorthand 
peculiar to himself, and showing a won- 
derful memory, most auspiciously seen 
in his reports of Dr. Dionysius Lardner's 
scientific lectures, from which reports the 
lectures were published in two volumes 



253 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



by Greeley & McElrath, with Dr. Lard- 
ner's certificate of their accuracy. Young 
Raymond also exhibited great energy in 
procuring exclusive news. Eventually 
his temperament, which was more con- 
servative by far than that of Mr. Greeley, 
led to differences between the two, and 
in 1848 he left the "Tribune" to assume 
the position of office editor of the New 
York "Courier and Enquirer," under 
Colonel J. Watson Webb. He also be- 
came the literary adviser of the firm of 
Harper Brothers, and to him (in 1850) 
was due the founding of "Harper's New 
Monthly Magazine." For this he wrote 
the "Prospectus." A newspaper debate 
which he had with Horace Greeley on 
Fourierism was continued for some time, 
and then Mr. Raymond's articles were 
published as a pamphlet. He also con- 
tributed largely to the periodicals of the 
Harper Brothers. 

In 1849 Mr. Raymond was elected to 
the State Legislature by the Whigs, and 
there distinguished himself in debate. In 
1850 he was re-elected to the Assembly, 
and was made speaker. During his legis- 
lative term he devoted special attention 
to the promotion of legislation for the 
improvement of the school and canal 
systems. In 1856 he retired from the 
"Courier and Enquirer," on account of 
political diiiferences between him and 
Colonel Webb. The winter of 1850-51 was 
spent in Europe, but, returning to the 
United States the following season, he 
founded the New York "Times," whose 
first issue appeared September 18, 185 1, 
and was editor-in-chief until his death, 
and this paper he made one of the lead- 
ing journals of the country. He went to 
Baltimore in the summer of 1852 to re- 
port the proceedings of the Whig Na- 
tional Convention, but was given a seat 
as a delegate. Raymond was an anti- 
slavery Whig, and during this convention 



made a strong speech, setting forth the 
position of many northern Whigs upon 
slavery as it was related to public ques- 
tions then in issue. In 1854 he was chosen 
Lieutenant-Governor of the State of New 
York, and in 1856 he was prominent in 
the organization of the National Repub- 
lican party, drafting its "Address to the 
People." After the defeat of General 
Fremont in his canvass for the presidency 
in 1856, Mr. Raymond declined a renomi- 
nation for the Lieutenant-Governorship 
of New York. The next year (1858) he 
favored Stephen A. Douglas, but ulti- 
mately resumed his relations with the 
Republican party. In 1859 he visited 
Europe, and was an eye-witness of the 
Franco-Austrian campaign in Italy, gain- 
ing a journalistic triumph by the early 
publication in New York of his full ac- 
count of the battle of Solferino. He 
warmly urged the nomination of Hon. 
William H. Seward for the Presidency 
in i860, but, when Abraham Lincoln be- 
came the Republican standard-bearer, Mr. 
Raymond supported him efficiently, as 
indeed he supported the national govern- 
ment throughout the Civil War, only 
censuring at times what he regarded as a 
hesitating policy. After the first battle 
of Bull Run (July 21, 1861), he proposed 
the establishment of a provisional govern- 
ment. During this year (1861) he was 
elected a member of the New York Legis- 
lature, and when it assembled was made 
its speaker. In 1863 he was defeated by 
Governor Edwin D. Morgan for nomina- 
tion as candidate for the United States 
Senatorship from New York. He was 
chairman of the New York delegation in 
the Republican National Convention of 
1864, and during that year was elected 
to Congress. In a speech in the House of 
Representatives, December 22, 1865, he 
maintained that the Southern States had 
never been out of the Union. He was 



254 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



now separated from the majority of his 
party, and gave a partial support to the 
reconstruction policy of President An- 
drew Johnson. He took part in convok- 
ing the Philadelphia "Loyalists' Conven- 
tion" of 1866, and wrote its "Address and 
Declaration of Principles." During that 
year he declined to be renominated for 
Congress, and in 1867 also declined ihe 
nomination as United States Minister to 
Austria, which had been offered to him 
by President Johnson. 

He now devoted himself once more, and 
with the utmost energy, to journalism, 
which he accounted his true vocation, but 
in 1868 revisited Europe with his family. 
Mr. Raymond was an assiduous writer 
for thirty years. His name is usually 
associated with that of Greeley and Ben- 
nett as the trio of great editors of their 
day. As a journalist merely, with "a 
nose for news" he was an expert ; and as 
an editor was more scholarly than either. 
As a speaker, he was rich in vocabulary, 
polished in diction, facile in argument, 
quick in apprehension and adroit in reply, 
with a marvelous faculty for "making 
the worse appear the better reason." 
He was the author of "History of the 
Administration of President Lincoln" 
New York, (1864). A revised edition, 
entitled "The Life and Public Services 
of Abraham Lincoln," was published in 
1865. (See Augustus Maverick, "H. J. 
Raymond and the New York Press for 
Thirty Years," Hartford, 1870). He died 
in New York City, June 18. 1869. 



SMITH, Matthew Hale, 

\Vritcr and Lieotnrer. 

Matthew Hale Smith, an earnest, elo- 
quent, magnetic speaker, and attractive 
and vigorous writer, was born in Port- 
land, Maine, in 1816. He was the young- 
est son of Dr. Elias Smith, who published 



the first religious newspaper in the 
United States, "The Herald of Gospel 
Liberty, " issued in 1808. 

At an early age the analytical char- 
acter of his mind and an inborn desire 
to investigate the deepest questions of 
theology, naturally drew him to the ec- 
clesiastical state. He was ordained a 
minister of the Universalist denomina- 
tion at the age of seventeen years. Even 
at that early period of his career Mr. 
Smith's eloquence and pleasing style of 
delivery won him a wide reputation. He 
was a man of fine presence, tall, erect, 
with a keen eye, and expressive counte- 
nance. In 1842 he became converted to 
Calvinism, and was ordained an ortho- 
dox minister in Maiden, Massachusetts. 
.About the year 1850 Mr. Smith's health 
became impaired, and he gave up the 
ministry as a regular profession and 
undertook the study of law. His diver- 
sified talents made him a ready pleader, 
while years of study had given him an 
unfailing fund of illustration, making 
him apt to see the weak points of an 
adversary, and quick to take advantage 
of them. He soon after this removed to 
New York, and to his two professions 
added that of journalism. As correspond- 
ent of the Boston "Journal" his "Bur- 
leigh Letters" attracted general atten- 
tion from the brilliancy of their style and 
their inexhaustible humor. He still con- 
tinued his ministerial labors, supplying 
the pulpits of Congregational, Dutch Re- 
formed, Methodist and Presbyterian 
churches ; but ill-health prevented his 
taking a settled charge. He was a man 
of indefatigable energy, and had a large 
correspondence with papers in cities and 
towns throughout the North and West. 
Among the books that he wrote are: 
"Marvels of Prayer," "Sunshine and 
Shadow in New York," and "Successful 
Folks." These were but a small portion 



255 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of his writings. His vast correspondence 
and innumerable letters would fill vol- 
umes. 

It was as a lecturer that Matthew Hale 
Smith achieved his greatest success. In 
this field he was master, and could display 
to the best his versatile talents. He made 
extensive lecture tours over the country, 
one of which, in 1877, in California, lasted 
for nine months. He excelled as a humor- 
ist, but his humor was always refined, 
and a vein of sound judgment ran 
through all his discourse. Among his 
most popular lectures were: "From the 
Thames to the Tiber," drawn from 
scenes and incidents on a European tour; 
also, "Old Times and Our Times," and 
"Wit and Humor." In April, 1861, as 
chaplain of the Twelfth Regiment, New 
York State Militia, he went to the seat of 
war at the first call for troops, and all 
through that struggle, in public addresses 
and in other services, devoted himself to 
the cause of his country. He was chap- 
lain of the "Old Guard" in New York 
City at the time of his death. His last 
public address was in behalf of the Sun- 
day school cause. In early life Mr. 
Smith married in Boston, Massachusetts, 
Mary, grandniece of John Adams, second 
President of the United States. By her 
he had seven children, five of whom, 
three sons and two daughters, survived 
him. Two of the sons studied law, and 
one went into the railroad business in 
the west. The eldest son took his grand- 
mother's name (his father's noni de 
plume), "Burleigh," upon coming of age, 
and became Judge Burleigh, of Massa- 
chusetts. His second son, G. Melville 
Smith, entered the ministry and was set- 
tled over the Second Presbyterian Church 
of Newburyport, Massachusetts. His 
daughter Louise, an artist of ability, 
acted as his amanuensis and traveled 
abroad with him on his last trip to Eu- 
rope. She was married, in 1876, to Al- 



bert C. Squier, an extensive builder and 
contractor of New York, and it was in 
their home that Matthew Hale Smith 
passed the last years of his life. He died 
in Brooklyn, New York, November 7, 
1879. 



KERNAN, Francis, 

I/a^pyer, Politician, Statesman. 

Francis Kernan, of Celtic descent, was 
born in Wayne, Steuben county, Janu- 
ary 14, 1816, the son of William Kernan, 
a highly respectable citizen of the south- 
ern tier, who represented his county in 
the Assembly in 1833 and 1834 and in 
the State Constitutional Convention of 
1846. Francis had a liberal education, 
being graduated from Georgetown (D. 
C.) College in 1836. He read law, was 
admitted to the bar in 1840, settled in 
Utica and practiced there for fifty years, 
becoming one of the most prominent and 
successful counsellors in Central New 
York, with clear, logical and persuasive 
speech. From 1854 to 1857 he was re- 
porter of decisions for the Court of Ap- 
peals, and in i860 was elected a member 
of the Assembly ; two years later, in 
1862, as the Democratic candidate, he 
was elected to Congress over Roscoe 
Conkling, the only break in the latter's 
long legislative career, and served from 
March 4. 1863, to the end of the term in 
1865. In 1867 Mr. Kernan was a member 
of the Constitutional Convention, and 
also a member of the commission to re- 
port to the Legislature certain proposed 
amendments to the constitution, all of 
which were finally adopted in 1874. In 
1870, he was elected a Regent of the 
University and continued such until his 
death. Doubtless, his earnest faith and his 
leading position as a layman in the 
Roman Catholic communion were not 
without influence in this preferment, but 
throughout his long and excellent service 



256 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in that body he betrayed neither religious 
nor political bias, being sedulous and in- 
fluential in an impartial supervision of the 
interests of higher and secondary educa- 
tion in the State and especially endear- 
ing himself to his associates in the 
Board. 

In the political history of the State he 
occupied a unique position. lie was one 
of a distinguished group of men, among 
them being Hon. Roscoe Conkling and 
Hon. Horatio Seymour. For a long 
period the three stood among the fore- 
most in the politics of the State, and, be- 
cause their constituencies centered in 
Utica, they became known as the "Utica 
Trio." Mr. Seymour died in 1886 and 
Mr. Conkling in 1888, leaving Mr. Ker- 
nan the sole representative locally of po- 
litical supremacies that in their day ex- 
ercised an immense influence in the 
affairs of the State and nation. Mr. Ker- 
nan's identification with the Democracy 
of New York as a leader was largely dut 
to Governor Tilden, who, with unerring 
political instinct, correctly estimated 
Mr. Kernan's power and usefulness, and 
promptly enlisted him in certain reform 
movements which he had determined 
upon. Kernan's previous experience in 
the Assembly and in Congress gave him 
peculiar advantages for becoming a 
leader in carrying out Governor Tilden's 
ideas, and he gave a momentum and 
strength to the Democratic organization 
that was distinctly felt in the moulding 
of the destinies of the nation as well as 
the State. The following fragment of a 
letter, found among Mr. Tilden's papers, 
will show the cordial relation which ex- 
isted between the two, and gives an evi- 
dence of the high regard in which Mr. 
Kernan was held: "For so difificult a 
movement cooperation was necessary. 
The first man I sought was Francis Ker- 
nan. His freedom from all entangle- 
ments (whether personal or political) 

N Y-Vol 1-17 2 



with corrupt interests or corrupt men, 
his high standard of public duty, his dis- 
interestedness and independence, his tact 
and eloquence in debate, his general 
popularity and the readiness of his dis- 
trict to send him as a delegate, made him 
my necessary ally." In 1872 Mr. Kernan 
was the Democratic candidate for Gov- 
ernor. He was defeated by General John 
A. Dix, but his reverse was temporary. 
Two years later, Mr. Tilden, the Demo- 
cratic nominee, was elected by 50,000 
majority. As one of the first results. Mr. 
Kernan went to the United States Senate 
for the term of six years. His service 
at the national capitol, during the larger 
portion of which there was a Der;ocratic 
majority in the Senate, while the admin- 
istration was Republican, Hayes being 
President, was highly efficient, honorable 
and patriotic. He upheld many worthy 
measures of the executive which were 
opposed by certain of the Republican 
leaders from factional motives. 

When the Democratic National Con- 
vention met in St. Louis to nomi.'ate a 
candidate for the Presidency, Kernan 
made the speech proposing the nam.e of 
Governor Tilden, and in the course of it 
said : "The taxes collected in New York 
in 1874 were $15,000,000. Mr. Tilden has 
been in office eighteen months, and il;t 
taxes to be collected next year will be 
$8,000,000." In the canvass which fol- 
lowed he took an active part, and did his 
full share in bringing about the remark- 
ably close vote of that year. Mr. Ker- 
nan was a man of most decided views 
and of erratic and original tastes. His 
garments were modeled on fashion a gen- 
eration old. He was a man of force and 
intense convictions, thoughtful, sober- 
minded, inflexible, but always trust- 
worthy and invariably sincere. He was 
honored, respected and loved during life 
and lamented in his death. He died in 
Utica. New York, September 5, 1892. 



S7 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHy 



The address delivered by the Hon. Wil- 
liam H. Watson, in memoriam of Kernan 
before the Regents, December 14. 1S92, 
is a fine and masterly tribute to his 
worth. It was published by the Univer- 
sity. 



VAN DER POEL, Samuel Oakley, 

Sanitationist. 

Dr. Samuel Oakley Van der Poel, son 
of Dr. John and Sarah W. (Oakley) Van 
der Poel, was born in Kinderhook, Co- 
lumbia county. New York, February 22, 
1824, and died at Washington, D. C, 
March 12, 1886. 

His boyhood and youth were spent in 
his native place, and the outdoor lifti 
of that healthful locality helped him to 
develop a vigorous and robust constitu- 
tion. He completed his preparatory 
training at an early age in the Kiu-ler- 



fnll. This political ferment culminated 
in t!ie v'iclent revolution of February, 
1848. ending in the abdication of Louis 
Phillipe and the proclamation of the Sec- 
ond Republic. He was a witness of these 
rr<eni'.ir;ible and turbulerit 'scenes, and. as 
the :^ecthing tumult was unpropitious to 
the calm prosecution of studies, he trav- 
eled thiough the south of Franc^ and 
Ttal}'. Viitnes.sing at Lyons, Marseilles. 
Naples, Rome, Florence and Milan the 
^ arious acts of the revolutionarv drama 
then exciting all Europe Immediately 
after the dIooi'v days of June he returned 
to the French capital and remained for a 
considerable period. 

In the spring of 1850, Dr. Van der Poel 
came to Albany, New York, where he 
settled and speedily acquired a remuner- 
ative practice which continued to be both 
flattering and progressive. In 1857. Gov- 
ernor John Alsop King appointed him 
Surgeon-General of New York State, 



hook Academy and then entered upon his 

collegiate course in the University of and three years later he was chosen presi- 

New York, of which institution the ven- dent of the Albany County Medical So- 



erable and scholarly Theodore Freling- 
huysen was then the chancellor. Re- 
ceiving his diploma, he returned to begin 
the study of medicine with his father, 
and after a thorough course at home and 
in the institution, graduated at Jelfer- 
son Medical College, Philadelphia, ni the 
spring of 1845. For the next two years 
he was associated in practice with his 
father; but he still regarded his educa- 
tion and early practice as only prepara- 



ciety, being reelected the following year. 
In 1861 he was again invited to hold the 
office of Surgeon-General, this time by 
Governor Edwin D. Morgan. The posi- 
tion proved in this case not one of mere 
empty honor or a sinecure. The inau- 
guration of the Civil War shortly after 
his term began, imposed duties and re- 
sponsibilities far more arduous, delicate 
and important than had ever before de- 
volved upon that or any other similar 



tory to the real professional career he position in this country. It became nec- 
had marked out, so in the fall of 1847 he essary, without the guide of precedent 
went to Paris to pursue his studies with or experience, to improvise a vast and 
the superior advantages belongii g to systematic bureau meeting every require- 
that brilliant capital. It was a remark- ment attaching to the complete medical 
able period, when Dr. Van der Poel be- organization of a great force. There were 
gan his serious post-graduate course in many militia regiments to be promptly 
medicir.e. Paris was in the midst of pro- provided with medical supplies and in- 
found agitation. The unpopular minis- struments as they hurried to the field, 
try of Guizot and the trembling throne There were numerous volunteer regi- 
of the citizen king were tottering to th';ir ments rapidly assembling, requiring im- 

258 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



mediate care for their sick and attention 
to their permanent organization. There 
were hundreds of surgeons and assistants 
coming from every section of the State, 
representing every grade of the profes- 
sion, whose qualifications were to be ex- 
amined and decided. New regiments 
were uninterruptedly organized, and 
old regiments demanded constant atten- 
tion, even after they had passed into the 
service of the United States, in order that 
a competent medical staff might be main- 
tained. This last duty was made particu- 
larly harassing and exhausting by the 
crude system of the general government 
during the first two years of the war. 
In many cases the medical officers no 
sooner became conversant with their 
duties than the novelty and romance van- 
ished, their resignations were offered and 
accepted, and the Surgeon-General re- 
quired to fill the vacancies with such 
promptitude that the public service 
should suffer no detriment. The magni- 
tude of the responsibility and the severity 
of the labor thus imposed may be judged 
from the fact that there were between 
six and seven hundred positions upon 
the medical staff to be kept filled with 
competent officers. A still more signifi- 
cant testimony is embodied in the state- 
ment that at one time the Surgeon-Gen- 
eral was called upon to make over five 
hundred appointments in the space of 
six weeks. Nor was this all. lie was 
obliged to establish and perfect a system 
of promotion which should be just, with- 
out favoritism, and confer reward with- 
out impairing the efficiency of the ser- 
vice. His patronage was immense. With 
hundreds of officers in this department, 
upon whose respective merits none but 
himself could decide, it required a nice 
sense of honor and a wise discrimination 
to distribute the ajipointmciits in such a 
way that the good of the general service 
might be harmonized with a recognition 



of just personal claims. Nothing could 
put the professional acquirements and 
the executive talents of a man to a severer 
test than these varied, complicated and 
difficult duties; and it is but to repeat the 
judgment of the highest authorities to 
say that they were performed by Dr. Van 
der Poel with signal ability. His suc- 
cessful administration elicited the official 
approval of both the Secretary of War 
and the Governor of the State of New 
York, and constitutes an important chap- 
ter in the association of New York with 
the great contest. 

In 1867, Dr. Van der Poel was ap- 
pointed to the chair of General Pathology 
and Clinical Medicine in the Albany 
Medical College, which position he held 
for three years and then resigned. About 
the same time he was appointed a man- 
ager of the State Lunatic As}lum at 
Utica, New York, a position in which he 
did effective work. In February, 1870, 
he was elected president of the Medical 
Society of the State of New York, the 
highest recognition in the power of his 
[irofessional brethren. The next step in 
his noteworthy career was equally if not 
nitjre important, as affecting innumer- 
able persons. In 1872, (iovernor John 
T. I loffman placed him in cliarge of the 
quarantine department of the port of 
New York as health officer. The irregu- 
larities of this office for many years had 
been the theme of discussion in legisla- 
tive councils and commercial conven- 
tions, for nothing in the way of a reform 
seemed to have been at all effective. The 
antagonism of commerce and quarantine 
were developed to the fullest extent. In 
this field, with all its complications, there 
was full scope for the exertion of his re- 
markable executive ability, which he had 
previously displayed. In many respects 
this is the highest medical office in the 
world, and to Dr. Van der Poel belongs 
the credit of restoring it to its true posi- 



259 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



tion. His first action was to reduce the 
various parts of it to form one perfect 
system. The enormous expenditures had 
grown into a heterogeneous organization 
without much system. Taking charge of 
it purely as a sanitary interest, he placed 
in the hands of those who owned mer- 
chandise and ships the work which had 
to be doneon their vessels, and which this 
could be done by them under the ordinary 
business rules that controlled such mat- 
ters elsewhere. The quarantine law, 
which had grown by successive enact- 
ments into an authority for oppressive 
administration, was codified and relaxed 
from some of its provisions, only retain- 
ing what was necessary of sanitary re- 
straint for the public safety, and these 
changes were urged forcefully upon the 
Legislature. For the first time in the his- 
tory of quarantine one found that com- 
merce was actively sustaining it. Mer- 
cantile associations passed complimen- 
tary and approving resolutions, and peti- 
tioned the Legislature in favor of every 
change which he recommended. Branches 
of trade which had left New York appar- 
ently forever, to avoid the expenses inci- 
dent to their quarantine detention, began 
soon thereafter to return. In all this 
acute change of conditions, there was not 
the slightest relaxation of sanitary re- 
straint necessary to the protection of the 
entire northern frontier and Western 
United States, which depend upon this 
port for their immigrations; but sanitary 
regulations, which Dr. Van der Poel con- 
sidered as his legitimate care, were made 
more strict than ever before. In Janu- 
ary, 1876, he was elected to the chair or 
Theory and Practice of Medicine in the 
Albany Medical College, a position which 
he sustained with credit to that institu- 
tion's advancement. It is of common re- 
pute that as a physician he was equally 
learned in theory as skilled in practice. 
To large native endowments he added 



the highest cultivation. He delighted in 
the acquisition of an enormous medical 
library, which he enriched with rare and 
important foreign works. He was known 
to his friends as a gentleman of large, 
public spirit and possessing an attrac- 
tive quality of broad, genial culture. 

Dr. Samuel Oakley Van der Poel mar- 
ried, at Albany, New York, December 
10, 1850, Gertrude Lansing Wendell, 
who was born in Albany, January 15, 
1824, died in Cazenovia, New York, Au- 
gust 13, 1906, daughter of Dr. Peter 
Wendell and Elizabeth Van Kleeck. 



PRUYN, Robert Hewson, 

I<egislator, Diplomatist. 

Hon. Robert Hewson Pruyn, son of 
Casparus Francis and Ann (Hewson) 
Pruyn, was born in Albany, New York, 
February 14, 1815, and was baptized by 
the Rev. John Melancthon Bradford, 
])astor of the "North" Dutch Reformed 
Church. 

His home life in childhood trained him 
in reverence, patriotism and industry, at- 
tributes which gave him prominence in 
after years. In 1825 he entered the Al- 
bany Academy, where his classical edu- 
cation under Dr. Theodoric Romeyn 
Beck and his education in the sciences 
under Professor Joseph Henry, the 
eminent scientist-discoverer, was most 
thorough. He then entered Rutgers Col- 
lege, from which he was graduated in 
1833. On leaving college he became a 
law student in the ofiice of Hon. Abra- 
ham Van Vechten, a jurist of recognized 
ability. Mr. Pruyn was admitted to the 
bar in 1836, and shortly after was ap- 
pointed attorney and counselor for the 
corporation of Albany, holding office for 
three jears, and for a like period was a 
member of the city council, in which 
body he was one of the most active mem- 
bers in public affairs. He was Judge- 



2G0 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Advocate from 1841 to 1846 on the staffs 
of Governors William H. Seward, Wil- 
liam C. Bouck and Silas Wright Jr. ; 
member of Assembly in 1848-49-50 from 
the third district of Albany county, as a 
member of the Whig party. In 1850 he 
was the Whig candidate for speaker of 
Assembly. The Democrats had a tie 
vote with the Whigs, but it having be- 
come apparent to Mr. Pruyn that one of 
the Whig members could not properly 
hold his seat, Mr. Pruyn abstained from 
voting, and the Democratic candidate 
was chosen. The appreciation of this 
high-minded course was shown shortly 
afterward. The speaker was called home 
by family affliction, and the Democrat? 
elected Mr. Pruyn speaker pro tempore. 
In 1851 Mr. Pruyn was again appointed 
Judge- Advocate General, this time by 
Governor Washington Hunt. In 1854 he 
was again an Assemblyman, and chosen 
speaker. In that office he displayed 
courage and such marked justice that 
never was there a single one of his rul- 
ings in the chair appealed from. Gov- 
ernor Myron H. Clark, on March 5, 1855, 
appointed him Adjutant-General, and in 
i860, when there was intense excitement 
in politics, he came within sixty-two 
votes of being elected to the Assembly, 
although the Lincoln electoral ticket had 
ten-fold that majority, in that district 
alone, against it. 

In September, 1861, President Lincoln 
appointed Mr. Pruyn United States 
Minister to Japan, as successor to the 
Hon. Townsend Harris, who was the 
first diplomatic representative of any 
country to that isolated kingdom. It 
was at a time when it was most essential 
for this country to be represented by a 
man of firmness and possessing strong 
convictions of his own in order to main- 
tain an equality among the great 
powers. There being no cable com- 
munication, nor even steamship inter- 



course at that time, the minister was 
largely left to exert his own resourceful- 
ness, and responsibility more largely 
rested on him than on the diplomats sent 
later by this country. It was common 
occurrence that if an inquiry regarding 
the policy to be pursued on a certain 
feature were sent to Washington, the 
reason for it might have so changed by 
the time of receiving the reply that the 
minister found it necessary to act along 
a far different course. He was thus 
forced to contest for influence among the 
trained diplomats of the world, and while 
the task was undoubtedly enormous, 
even so much higher in the public's esti- 
mation did he rise. 

In 1863 two naval expeditions were 
undertaken against the transgressing 
Daimio of Chosu, whose vessels had fired 
on the American merchant steamer 
"Pembroke." The allied forces in the 
latter engagement demolished the fortifi- 
cations of Chosu, and Mr. Pruyn de- 
manded an indemnity of three million 
dollars or, in lieu, the opening of new 
ports. Later on the sum of $1,500,000 
was turned over to the State Department 
at Washington, and the effect of the 
American representative's insistence was 
so salutary that it exerted a lasting bene- 
fit, opening the eyes of Japan as a nation 
to white men's methods so as to be the 
true initiative of its desire for education 
and the modern methods of the powers. 
Minister Pruyn became an authority for 
all America on the arts and institutions 
of Japan ; and, in apprising the State De- 
partment through his voluminous reports 
on his observations and reasons for his 
acts, furnished much beneficial informa- 
tion. On his return to the United .States 
in 1867, Minister Pruyn was a candidate 
for Lieutenant-Governor but was not 
elected, and an attack of diphtheria at 
that time caused him to retire from 
public life for a few years. In 1872 Gov- 



261 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ernor John T. Hoffman appointed him 
on a non-partisan commission to frame 
amendments to the State constitution, 
and this important body made him its 
presiding ohicer. 

Mr. Pruyn was chosen president of the 
National Commercial Bank of Albany, 
;m institution noted for its soundness 
throughout the Civil War, when it afford- 
ed great aid to the government, and for 
more than half a century it continued to 
be a depository for the general funds of 
the State of New York. He was vice- 
president of the Albany Savings Bank ; 
a trustee of the Metropolitan Trust Com- 
pany of New York City; trustee of Rut- 
gers College ; president of the board of 
directors of the Dudley Observatory ; 
\ ice-president of the board of trustees 
of the Albany Medical College, and on 
the executive committee of the State 
Normal College ; member of The Albany 
Institute, and of the Young Men's Asso- 
ciation, being its president in 1838, and a 
governor of the Fort Orange Club. He 
was made a Mason in Master's Lodge, 
No. 5, before he left for Japan, and upon 
liis return was connected with the An- 
cient and Accepted Scottish Rite, de- 
livering the oration at the dedication of 
the Temple in September, 1875. 

Mr. Pruyn brought from Japan a great 
number of rare art treasures, and his col- 
lection of carved ivories is regarded as 
one of the finest in the world. He re- 
ceived the degree of M. A. from Rut- 
gers in 1865, and of LL. D. from Wil- 
liams. He was devoted to his church, 
and advanced its work very materially, 
and all who knew him bear witness to 
his honor, charity and unusual qualities 
of intellect. He died February 26, 1882, 
of embolism of the brain, and was buried 
in the Pruyn family lot in the Albany 
Rural cemetery on the 28th. 



WEBB, James Watson, 

Journalist and Diplomatist. 

This veteran journalist and accom- 
plished diplomatist was born in Claverack, 
New York, February 8, 1802, son of 
General Samuel Blatchley Webb, of the 
Revolutionary army, and his wife, Cath- 
erine (Hageboomj Webb. 

He attended the schools at Coopers- 
town, New York, and at the age of sev- 
enteen, an army career being opposed by 
his guardian, he ran away to Washing- 
ton, tirst securing from Governor Clin- 
ton, of New York, a letter of identitica- 
tion as the son of General Samuel B. 
Webb. Reserving enough money to de- 
fray his expenses to Washington, he de- 
voted the remainder of his ready means 
to "seeing the sights" in New York City. 
Arriving at Washington, he was very 
kindly received by John C. Calhoun, then 
the Secretary of War, who at first firm- 
ly refused to commission him on account 
of the claims of West Point graduates, 
but was finally prevailed upon to do so 
by young Webb's written statement of 
his own claims as opposed to those of 
graduates of West Point. Mr. Calhoun 
appointed him lieutenant in the Fourth 
Battalion of Artillery, with orders to re- 
port at Governor's Island, New York 
harbor. In after years, when General 
Webb had become an important factor 
in politics, his consideration for Calhoun, 
though they differed widely in principles, 
was an illustration of his leading char- 
acteristic — attachment to those who had 
done him a kindness. To show the con- 
tinuance of this relationship, it is well 
to recall that at a much later day he was 
invited to Washington by the leading 
Whig senators, particularly Webster and 
Mangum, to oppose President Polk's war 
policy regarding the northwestern boun- 
dary question, partly because of his posi- 



262 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



tion on that question, and partly because 
of his personal relations with Calhoun. 
The satisfactory settlement of that mo- 
mentous question was due in no small 
measure to the direct action of General 
Webb. At the reduction of the army in 
1821, he was detailed for duty at Chicago. 
In January, 1823, information was re- 
ceived of an intended Indian uprising, 



quirer," and this paper became the organ 
of the Whig party. He revolutionized 
the then system of news gathering, 
building for this purpose the schooner 
"Courier and Enquirer," unquestionably 
the strongest and fastest craft of her 
class that had been built at that 
day, also establishing a horse express be- 
tween New York and Washington in 



with a view to the massacre of Colonel order to obtain news twenty-four hours 

Snelling's regiment (located at St. An- in advance of his competitors, thereby 

thony's Falls, Minnesota). In order to giving a new impetus to the newspaper 

warn Colonel Snelling, it was necessary press, which has continued to this day. 

to send a messenger to Fort Armstrong In June, 1842, he fought a duel with 

on the Mississippi. Owing to the danger. Thomas F. Marshall, of Kentucky, con- 
it being winter, and all the surrounding 
Indians on the point of uprising, a vol- 
unteer was called for, as the weakness of 



ccrning an article published in the "Cou- 
rier," and in November he was indicted 
by the New York grand jury, but was 
pardoned after two weeks' imprisonment. 
He was engineer-in-chief of the State 
with the rank of major-general. In 1849 
he was appointed Minister to Austria by 
President Taylor, but was not confirmed 
by the Senate, chiefly through the instru- 
mentality of Mr. Clay, whose opposition 
sprang from General Webb's advocacy 
of the nomination of General Taylor for 
the Presidency. He returned home in 
1850, and in June, 1861, he sold the 
"Courier and Enquirer" to the New York 
"World." 

His political career was a remarkable 
e.xnmijle of a brilliant mind governed sole- 
ly by his convictions of duty. He believed 
in a tariff and a United States bank, and, 
when General Jackson advocated them. 
General Webb lent the aid of his im- 
mense influence to their support. When 
General Jackson assailed the United 
States bank. General Webb still believed 
in and clung to it, and though other- 
wise in full accord with the President, 
strongly condemned him for striking 
ing Courier." In 1820 he purchased the certain officers from the roll of the navy. 
New York "Enquirer." and combined it He aided in consolidating, and gave the 
with the "Courier," under the name name of Whig to the party that sprang 
"Morning Courier and New York En- into existence in opposition to Democ- 

263 



Colonel McNeil's command forbade 
sending a party. Young W'ebb, then 
twenty years old, undertook the duty, 
and with a picked companion and one 
Indian guide he set out to reach Fort 
Armstrong, in spite of hostile Indians, 
in extremely cold weather, and with 
snow eight inches deep. On foot through 
the woods and over the prairies, across 
the entire State of Illinois, he struggled, 
and for the last two days and three 
night pursued by the fleet-footed Winne- 
bagoes, he took no rest, until he finally 
made his way through an encircling 
band of hostile savages who surrounded 
Fort Armstrong, into the fort itself. 
From there a courier was sent up the 
Mississippi to Fort Snelling, whose warn- 
ing enabled the garrison to prevent the 
uprising. In 1825 he was appointed ad- 
jutant of the Third Regiment, and in 
September, 1827, he resigned his commis- 
sion. 

He now became the proprietor and 
editor-in-chief of the New York "Morn- 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



racy. His allegiance was given only to 
his own principles, and those principles 
always sounded the alarm for opposition 
to any whose integrity he doubted, 
whether political or moral, and during 
the time when the slavocracy threatened 
the life of the nation, his great paper 
thundered for "Freedom, Liberty, Union 
— freedom and liberty, one and insepa- 
rable, now and forever; and Union, ever- 
lasting Union among the States, for our 
own benefit, and for the benefit of man- 
kind." In 1861 he was appointed and 
confirmed Minister to Turkey, without 
his knowledge or consent. He declined 
by telegraph, and was immediately and 
unanimously appointed and confirmed 
Envoy Extraordinary and Minister 
Plenipotentiary to the empire of Brazil, 
which post he accepted and filled for 
eight years. He journeyed to Brazil, via 
Fontainebleau, France, by request of 
President Lincoln, and there met Louis 
Napoleon by appointment, and explained 
to him the cause of the secession of our 
southern States, the determination of the 
Union people to put it down, and gov- 
ernmental ability to maintain the block- 
ade of the southern coast, if not inter- 
fered with. Having been a highly prized 
personal friend and constant correspond- 
ent of Napoleon for over a quarter of a 
century, this interview, as stated by our 
minister to Paris, Mr. Dayton, had a 
most important effect upon the then state 
of affairs. Those years in Brazil were 
pregnant with constant successions of 
critical crises. He was at first re- 
ceived by a government openly express- 
ing ill-will toward us, and by the bitter 
enmity of England's envoy. Conquering 
both by sheer force of character, Mr. 
Webb secured from Brazil respectful 
treatment, and from the English govern- 
ment the recall of its disgraced envoy, 
doing this last at the risk of his own life. 
Through his diplomatic genius, his fear- 



less defense of the right, which caused 
him to disregard all but considerations 
of justice and principle, even at the risk 
of offending Napoleon. Through his 
confidential intercourse with the emperor 
he secured the peaceful withdrawal of 
the French from Mexico in March, 1867, 
a fitting crown to his brilliant diplomatic 
career. In 1870 he returned to New York 
City and there spent the remainder of 
his days. He was the author of "Alto- 
wan, or Incidents of Life and Adventure 
in the Rocky Mountains" (two volumes, 
1S46) ; "Slavery and Its Tendencies" 
(1856); "National Currency" (1875). 

He married, in New York City, Helen 
Lispenard, daughter of Alexander L. and 
Sarah (Lispenard") Stewart. He died in 
New York City, June 7. 1884. 



HEADLEY, Joel T., 

Antlsor and Historian. 

This popular but not altogether au- 
thentic writer was born in Walton, New 
York, December 3, 1813, son of the Rev. 
Isaac and Irene (Benedict) Headley, and 
grandson of Robert Headley. 

He was graduated from Union College 
in 1839, meanwhile attending the Auburn 
(New York) Theological Seminary, 
1836-3S. After being licensed to preach 
in New York City in 1840, as a Congre 
gational minister, he removed to Stock- 
bridge, Massachusetts, and for two and 
one-half years officiated as pastor of a 
church in that place. Compelled by ill 
health to abandon the ministry, he spent 
two years (1842-43) in Europe, in Italy, 
and on the Continent. When he returned 
to the United States he devoted his time 
to literary work, and published a series 
of sketches embodying the results of his 
sojourn (1844), which was so favorably 
received by the American public as to 
make him an author by profession. In 
1846 he succeeded Henry J. Raymond as 



264 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



associate editor of the New York 
"Tribune." In 1847 he visited the Adi- 
rondack region in the State of New 
York, then terra incognita, for his liealth, 
and afterward repeated his visits for 
several years, and his book, "The Adi- 
rondacks ; or, Life in the Woods," 
first drew public attention to that re- 
gion. In 1854 he was elected to the 
New York Legislature, and in 1S55 he 
was elected Secretary of State for New 
York. 

He published many popular biogra- 
phies and histories, and his book of travel 
have been widely circulated. Notable 
among his works are "Napoleon and his 
Marshals," (two volumes, 1846, this be- 
ing the first American book issued by 
the house of Charles Scribner in New 
York City) ; "Washington and his Gen- 
erals" (1847); "Life of Cromwell" 
(1848) ; "Sacred Scenes and Characters" 
(1849) ; "Life of Washington" (1857); 
"Life of Havelock" (1859); "Chaplains 
of the Revolution" (1861); "The Great 
Rebellion" (two volumes, 1864) ; "Grant 
and Sherman, their Campaigns and Gen- 
erals" (1865) ; "Sacred Heroes and Mar- 
tyrs" (1865) ; "Farragut and our Naval 
Commanders" (1867) ; "The Achieve- 
ments of Stanley and Other .-African Ex- 
plorers" (1877) ; and many contributions 
to current literature. The criticism of 
Rufus W. Griswold in writing of the first 
two works herein mentioned was appo- 
site: "He has taken up the subject with 
ardor, but with little previous prepara- 
tion ; the work therefore indicates imper- 
fect information, immature views of 
character, and unconsidered opinions. 
The style has the same melodramatic 
exaggeration which the whole design of 
the work exhibits. Yet unquestionably 
there is power even in the faults of these 
brilliant sketches." The sale of his books 
had, in 185.^, reached the aggregate of 
two hundred thousand volumes, his "Life 



of Washington" having a sale of over 
one hundred thousand copies. A uniform 
edition of his works was printed in 
twelve volumes, previous to the appear- 
ance of several of his later productions, 
his total of separate published produc- 
tions being catalogued (1892) at twenty- 
four. 

He was married, in 1850, to Anna A. 
Russel, of New York City. He died in 
Newburgh, New York, January 16, 1897. 



YOUNG. Samuel. 

Orator. Legislator, Political Leader, 

Samuel Young, of brilliant gifts, superb 
courage and unbending integrity, known 
as "the sword, the shield and the orna- 
ment of his party," was born in the town 
of Lenox, Berkshire county, Massachu- 
setts, in the year 1779. He came, in 1785. 
with his parents, to Clifton I^ark, Sara- 
toga county, where his father had pur- 
chased a farm and on which he grew to 
manhood, alternating his farm work with 
such schooling as the rural precinct af- 
forded and. as tradition has it. by study- 
ing nights by the light of the pine knots 
on the hearthstone, as did Lincoln in the 
Kentucky log house. He was essentially 
a self-made man. and, by a vigorous 
course of self-instruction, became pos- 
sessed of a classical, scientific and general 
education, such as a college graduate of 
the day might well envy. Bending his 
mind to the law as his profession, he be- 
gan its study with Levi 11. Palmer, was 
duly admitted to the bar. settled for prac- 
tice in Ballston and soon acquired a 
clientage. His political studies, in the 
school of Jefferson, inclined him to the 
Republican party, from whose principles 
he never deviated ; and, as a bright young 
man, he devoted himself to its weal and 
received local recognition by being com- 
missioned justice of the peace and repre- 
senting the town in the board of super- 



265 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



visors for the years 1809-10-12 and '13. He 
made his debut in the Assembly in 1814; 
and in that body at once assumed a com- 
manding position by his stately presence, 
engaging mien, and grace and power of 
speech. 

As thus evident at the outset, he mani- 
fested himself throughout an impassioned 
and eventful career. He was a prince of 
orators, fertile in thought, scholarly in 
construction, rich in vocabulary, apt in 
elocution, strong in logic, lambent in wit 
and magical in effect. He was a born 
fighter, ready to enter the lists at any 
moment, eager for the fray. Intolerant of 
opposition, he provoked, and, perhaps, 
courted, enmities, while he gained friends 
true as steel to him. Absolutely loyal to 
the principles he professed, his political 
course was as consistent, as courageous, 
in this regard, whatever it cost him of 
personal advantage or however it em- 
broiled him in factional strife. Entering 
the public service, while the war with 
Great Britain was still on, he showed 
himself as resolute with pen as with voice. 
Thus, when Chancellor Kent objected to 
giving stock companies the right to en- 
gage in privateering, "Young replied to 
him in a series of essays, brilliant and 
readable even in a new century. He showed 
that, although America had been handi- 
capped by Federalist opposition, by a dis- 
organized army and by a navy so small 
that it might almost as well have not 
existed, yet American privateers — out- 
numbering the British fleet, scudding be- 
fore the wind, defying capture, running 
blockades, destroying commerce and 
bearing the stars and stripes to the ends 
of the earth — had dealt England the most 
staggering blow ever inflicted upon her 
supremacy of the sea." (Alexander, 
volume I., page 253). Young was re- 
turned to the Assembly of 1815 and was 
made speaker thereof in recognition of 
the talents he had displayed during the 



previous session, his zealous support of 
the war measures and the financial 
policies of Governor Tompkins ; and this 
at the desire of the Governor. 

In 1816, he was appointed a canal com- 
missioner, holding until removed by a 
Whig Legislature in 1840. Throughout 
his prolonged service as commissioner, 
he seems to have fulfilled his duties with 
attention to the needs of the great enter- 
prize, with strict regard, however, to his 
postulate that the State should pay for 
the prosecution of the work as it pro- 
ceeded, without the contraction of debt, 
unless revenues were in sight for expung- 
ing it. In the Legislature, to which he 
was repeatedly returned, he was the most 
prominent and inflexible champion of the 
"pay as you go" principle in State 
finances, ably seconded by Azariah C. 
Flagg as comptroller. Indeed, this may 
be said to have been his main "stock in 
trade" throughout his legislative career. 
To its vindication he gave his time, his 
energies and his masterful eloquence. He 
was. from the first, a determined antago- 
nist of the ambitions of DeWitt Clinton 
who had. with all his splendid statesman- 
ship, a positive genius for making foes 
(q. v. Clinton sketch). The two men 
were in frequent collision. Young, whose 
battery of expletives was quite as well 
stocked as Clinton's, drew upon it freely 
in denunciation of the perennial Gov- 
ernor, "apparently taking keen pleasure in 
holding up to ridicule and in satirizing his 
(Clinton's) ponderous pedantries, his 
solemn affectation of profundity and 
wisdom, his narrow mindedness and his 
intolerable and transparent egotism." 
f.Mexander, volume I., page 252). In 
1817, when Clinton was first elected Gov- 
ernor, sweeping the State like a whirl- 
wind. Young does not seem to have made 
open demonstration against him, declin- 
ing to act with Tammany Hall in its ill- 
judged naming of General Porter. In the 



266 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



fall of 1817, Young was elected to the 
State Senate, from the eastern district, 
for a term of four years. During this 
tenure, he further distinguished himself 
by his brilliant speech and stern adhesion 
to his economic creed. In this year also 
Young was elected a Regent of the Uni- 
versity, holding until 1835, when he re- 
signed. At the joint-session of the Legis- 
lature, February 2, 1819, Young, as the 
candidate of the "Bucktails" for United 
States Senator, received fifty-seven votes 
to sixty-four for John C. Spencer (Clm- 
tonian) and Rufus King (Federalist). No 
choice being had, the election was re- 
manded to the succeeding session, when 
King was returned, as elsewhere detailed 
(q. V. Rufus King sketch). In 1821, 
Young was a delegate to the Constitu- 
tional Convention, and was conspicuous 
therein as an advocate for the introduc- 
tion into the organic law of a larger 
expression of democracy — the narrowing 
of appointive and the broadening of 
elective power. 

The gubernatorial campaign of 1824 
was one of the most interesting and excit- 
ing contests ever witnessed in the State. 
DeWitt Clinton and Samuel Young were 
pitted against each other — two great 
antagonists, Clinton, not deeming it 
prudent to present his name to the people 
had, during the Yates interregnum, 
accreted popular appreciation of his 
achievements in behalf of internal im- 
provements and inspired sympathy and 
indignation by his unjust and unjjardon- 
able removal as canal commissioner — a 
vital mistake of his enemies. His 
friends had attained the coherence and 
vim of a well organized party with amply 
oiled machinery, and were never more leal 
to their chief, their fealty accentuated by 
the ansrer over the partizan wrong done 
him. They had with them the Federalist 
forces — or what was left of that once for- 
midable element — and were confident of 



popular support generally. Young had 
the regular Republicans — the "IJuck- 
tails" — solidly behind him, with their re- 
cently proclaimed conversion to Clinton's 
canal policies, with that peerless political 
leader, Van Buren, to manage the can- 
vass : Young also had his own white 
mark upon the political slate — his fidelity 
as the watch dog of the treasury, his 
magnificent and magnetic oratory, to give 
him prestige as a fighter. Upon the 
stump, both candidates were at their best 
— Young spirited, brilliant, captivating; 
Clinton scholarly, strong and logical. 
Both dealt in invective, as was the custom 
of the time, but in persuasion Young was 
superior to Clinton. In the review it 
would seem that Young was personally 
more popular than his adversary, his 
pleasing mien contrasting favorably with 
the austerity and aloofness of Clinton. 
Principles, rather than persons, in the 
last analysis, turned the scale for Clin- 
ton — the swelling tide of canal sentiment, 
doubt of the genuineness of Tammany's 
change of heart, and the insistence of the 
Regency on the choice of Presidential 
electors by the Legislature instead of by 
the peo]ile, being important factors in the 
result. Clinton received at the poll>; 
103,452 votes, and Young 87,093. In 
other cases, the defeat of the Regency, or 
the Bucktails, was overwhelming. Out 
of eight Senators, only two regular Re- 
publicans were spared; while, in the .\s- 
semblv. the opiiosition stood three to one. 
Such an emphatic defeat would ordi- 
narilv have doomed the disappointed 
candidate to permanent enrollment upon 
the list of "have beens" — foreclosed fur- 
ther preferment. It doubtless shadowed 
such loftier aspirations as Young may 
have entertained, but it by no means 
ended his political career. He still re- 
tained a local constituency swift to do 
him honor, and had many years useful to 
the State before him. He was elected to 



267 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the Assembly of 1826 and became its 
speaker. From 1833 until 1838 he was 
judge of Saratoga county. He was re- 
turned to the Senate in 1834, resigning at 
the close of the session of 1836; and at 
the next election was again chosen Sen- 
ator, serving until the close of the session 
of 1840. In 1842, the Legislature elected 
him Secretary of State for the three years 
term, in which he was, as superintendent 
of schools, notably efficient in caring for 
and advancing the system of elementary 
education. Once again, in 1845, he was 
elected to the Senate, retaining his seat 
until 1847, when his term expired by force 
of the new constitution realigning dis- 
tricts. The few remaining years of his 
life were passed at his home in Ballston. 
where he died, suddenly, November 3, 
1830, in the seventy-third year of his age. 
He had married Miss Mary Gilson, who 
survived him with four children — John 
H., Samuel Thomas Gilson, Catharine 
and Mary. In private life he was gentle, 
afTable, loving, fond of innocent amuse- 
ments, the society of the young, the cul- 
tivation of his garden. From an affection- 
ate tribute to his memory, by his daughter 
Mary (Mrs. Wayland) under date of 
June 15, 1878, the following passages are 
copied as relating his advanced ideas in 
later years and his remarkable prevision : 

His views on many subjects were far in ad- 
vance of his time. I have heard him condemn 
the law that cave a wife's property to her hus- 
band, and the wages of a poor laboring woman 
to the man who owned her, years before the sub- 
ject of woman's rights was discussed in the 
newspapers. He was opposed to slavery in all 
forms and under all disguises. He thought that 
they (slave holders) should be induced to sell 
their slaves to the United States and employ 
them again when free. He labored in the Senate 
for the passage of a law that became one soon 
after his death, allowing married women to hold 
their own property and dispose of it by will, and 
giving to poor working women the avails of 
their own labor. * * * In a lecture before 
the Young Men's Association of Albany, he 



argued against taxation without representation, 
and msisted that women were intellectually and 
should be legally the equals of men. * * » I 
have often heard my father say that there would 
be war between the North and South, although 
it would, probably, not take place in his lifetime. 
He believed, too, that a railway would eventually 
unite the two oceans, and that the submarine 
telegraph would, sometime or other, be laid. 



BANCROFT, George, 

Historian, Diplomat. 

George Bancroft was born at Worces- 
ter, Massachusetts, October 3, 1800, son 
of Aaron Bancroft, a Congregational-Uni- 
tarian minister, and who was author of a 
"Life of Washington." His residence in 
New York for eight years entitles this 
State to claim him as a citizen thereof, 
and justifies the inclusion of his name 
among the biographies of her famous 
sons. 

His childhood was passed in an atmos- 
phere of cultivation, and he early de- 
veloped a love of study. Between the 
ages of eleven and thirteen he was a stu- 
dent at Phillips Exeter Academy, and 
afterwards entered Harvard College, 
where during his first year he had Ed- 
ward Everett for his tutor. Mr. Everett, 
being appointed professor, went to Got- 
tingen to further fit himself for his ofiice, 
and from there wrote to Harvard advising 
that some brilliant young man should be 
sent to Germany to study, in order that 
the teaching at Harvard might be 
strengthened. Young Bancroft, on his 
graduation in 181 7, was chosen and sent. 
At Gottingen he had Eichhorn, Blumen- 
bach and Heeren for his teachers. Heeren 
was the greatest historical critic in 
Europe at that time, and his influence is 
traceable in Bancroft's political course, as 
well as in his historical writings. Mr. 
Bancroft received the degree of Ph. D. 
from Gottingen in 1820, and proceeded to 
Berlin, where he studied under Schleier- 
macher and Savigny, and under Schlosser 



268 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



at Heidelberg. Having thus made the 
round of the German universities, he 
travelled in France, Italy, and England, 
and during his tour met Cousin, Constant, 
Humboldt, Manzoni, Bunsen, Niebuhr, 
Goethe, Byron, and other distinguished 
men. He then returned to his tutorship 
at Harvard College, but finding himself 
trammelled in his attempts to introduce 
German methods of instruction, he re- 
signed, and in company with Dr. Cogs- 
well founded the Round Hill School at 
Northampton, Massachusetts, which was 
a success educationally, though not finan- 
cially. Here he prepared text-books for 
the pupils, and labored faithfully to carry 
out his educational theories ; and also pub- 
lished a volume of poems, and gave to 
American literature translations from the 
German, notably Heeren's "Politics of 
Ancient Greece," and his "History of Po- 
litical Systems of Europe." In 1834 the 
initial volume of his great work on Amer- 
ican history was issued, and exhibited in 
a lucid and philosophical manner the prin- 
ciples of American history for the first 
time. It was received with satisfaction 
by those who had waited for it — a satis- 
faction which was augmented when the 
second and third volumes made their ap- 
pearance. 

In 1838 Mr. Bancroft was made Collec- 
tor of the Port of Boston, and in 1844 was 
nominated for Governor of Massachu- 
setts on the Democratic ticket, but was 
defeated. In the following year he be- 
came Secretary of the Navy under Presi- 
dent Polk, and established during his 
short term of office the Naval Academy 
at Annapolis, and also instituted various 
other reforms, proving himself, in this as 
in all other of his undertakings, both 
able and efficient. During the war with 
Mexico, his orders alone compassed the 
acquisition of California by the United 
States, and he also, while acting Secre- 



tary of War, gave the order to General 
Taylor to march into Texas. In 1846 he 
was sent as Minister to England, where 
his learning and literary achievements 
greatly enhanced the respect with which 
he was received. Statesmen and men of 
letters vied in paying him attention, and 
counted it a pleasure to afford him every 
facility for prosecuting his historical re- 
searches. Archives were everywhere open 
to him, and during his residence in that 
country he gathered a rich store of ma- 
terial, Lord Lansdowne allowing him to 
use freely the papers left by Lord Shel- 
burne, then in the former's possession. 
Before his return to America in 1849, the 
University of Oxford gave him the de- 
gree of Doctor of Civil Law. 

When Mr. Bancroft reached home, he 
took up his residence in New York, and 
for eight years devoted himself to the 
continuation of his great historical work. 
His life was methodical and regular. He 
had settled hours for work and for relax- 
ation or exercise, and pursued an undevi- 
ating system as to the disposal of his 
time, and was thus enabled to perform an 
enormous amount of work, writing and 
publishing volumes five to ten of his his- 
tory during the years 1850 to 1874. In 1867 
he went as Minister to the German Empire, 
and as such he negotiated with Bismarck, 
mainly through his great personal influ- 
ence with that statesman, a treaty by 
which German citizens settled in America 
were relieved from compulsory military 
service in Germany, and allowed to re- 
nounce their allegiance to that country on 
becoming citizens of the United States. 
England followed Prussia's lead in for- 
bearing to claim perpetual allegiance 
from those who had left her soil. In 
1868, just fifty years after his receiving 
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from 
the University of Bonn, that institution 
bestowed upon him the degree of Doctor 



2G9 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of Laws, upon which occasion he received 
congratulations from all parts of the 
world. Mr. Bancroft performed other 
valuable service during his diplomatic 
career in Germany, and was recalled from 
that country in accordance with his own 
request in 1874. By this time the tenth 
volume of the history had been issued 
from the press, and he assumed with un- 
abated ardor the completion of the task 
he had set himself, in producing an ex- 
haustive history of what he considered "a 
nation among nations." Almost half a 
century of persevering and unremitting 
labor had already been given to the re- 
search necessary for his work, no pos- 
sible source of information being allowed 
to go unexplored, Mr. Bancroft having 
travelled from State to State in search 
of documents necessary to confirm the 
facts he faithfully endeavored to set 
forth in their right complexion. Although 
there are many adverse opinions as to the 
quality of Mr. Bancroft's production, it 
is on all sides conceded that his portrayal 
of events is conscientious and disinter- 
ested; his talent for marshalling facts in 
narrative form is unexcelled ; indeed, his 
truth was never called in question except 
as to certain facts which related to some 
of the prime actors in the statesmanship 
of the Revolution. Mr. Bancroft as an 
impartial historian had necessarily to ex- 
press himself in regard to those whose 
living descendants felt their pride morti- 
fied by his disclosures or his strictures, 
and he was bitterly assailed by pen and 
tongue. He did not flinch from such cen- 
sure ; he had spared no trouble in his re- 
gard for accuracy, and he was too large- 
minded to quail before the hail of de- 
traction which stung him after his 



also charged with clinging to error, in 
that he ignored the work of younger in- 
vestigators in the later editions of his 
volumes ; and his style was pronounced 
inflated and rhapsodical ; but these, if 
allowed as defects, do not detract from 
the value of his work as a whole, 
nor from the ability and power evinced 
in its achievement. How he was re- 
garded by the great minds of his day 
is shown by the fact that a partial list 
of the honors showered upon him by 
learned societies, as well as by the great 
universities in Europe and America, fill 
more than half a column in the quin- 
quennial catalogue of Harvard Univer- 
sity. He founded exhibitions at Exeter 
and Worcester, and a scholarship at Har- 
vard, which he affectionately named after 
his old tutor, John Thornton Kirkland. 
Some of his minor works are; "The 
Necessity, Reality and the Promise of 
the Progress of the Human Race ;" "A 
Plea for the Constitution of the United 
States;" "The Culture, the Support and 
the Object of Art in a Republic ;" "The 
Office, Appropriate Culture and Duty of 
the Mechanic ;" "Eulogies on Lincoln, 
Andrew Jackson, Prescott and Washing- 
ton Irving ;" and numerous other ora- 
tions delivered on various occasions and 
afterwards published. He furnished the 
biography of Jonathan Edwards for the 
"American Cyclopsedia." 

Mr. Bancroft was a man of fine pres- 
ence, and possessed in a remarkable de- 
gree the quality of youth ; age did not 
seem to touch him ; his vigor, his upright 
carriage, his vivacity and joyous bearing 
did not desert him as his years increased. 
During the latter years of his life he 



publication of what is indubitably the spent his time between Washington and 
masterpiece of his work — the history of his Newport home. (See "Allibone's Dic- 
the Revolution. He was accused of men- tionary of Authors"). He died at Wash- 
dacity in his use of quotations, and was ington, January 17, 1891. 

270 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF niOGRAPIIY 



FRENEAU, Philip Morin, 

Poet, Politician, Sailor. 

"Brackenridge, Francis Hopkinson and 
Freneau are admitted by critics to be the 
foremost writers of the eighteenth cen- 
.tury." — "The Magazine of American 
History." 

The grandfather of PhiHp Freneau, 
Andre Fresneau, a Huguenot, came to 
this country in 1707. then a man of thir- 
ty-six. He settled in New York, and in 
1710 married Mary Morin, a daughter of 
Pierre Morin. Andre Fresneau lived on 
Pearl street, near Hanover Square, and 
was an importer. He died in 1725, leav- 
ing a large estate in eastern New Jersey, 
and a prosperous business, which was 
carried on by his seven children. 

Pierre, second son, married, in 1748, 
Agnes Watson, daughter of Richard 
Watson, of Freehold, and built a large 
mansion on Frankfort street. New York, 
where on January 2, 1752, Philip Morin 
Freneau was born, one of five children. 
In 1762 the Freneau family left New 
York to live in their country mansion, 
"Mount Pleasant," near Aliddletown, 
New Jersey, which Pierre had built in 
1752 on the property left by his father. 
There Philip was educated and prepared 
for college by the Rev. William Ten- 
nent, of Freehold, and later at Penolo- 
pen Latin School, by the Rev. Alexander 
Mitchell. Freneau entered Princeton Col- 
lege with Samuel Spring, H. H. Bracken- 
ridge, and James Madison, with whom he 
roomed during his college course, form- 
ing a warm lifelong friendship. Madison 
was a frequent visitor at Mount Pleas- 
ant and courted Freneau's sister Mary, 
only to be refused, as Mary Freneau 
elected to remain single. 

The genius of Philip Freneau ripened 
quickly under the influences at Nassau 
Hall. Many of his best poems were writ- 
ten there, notably a graduation ode in 



collaboration with Brackenridge, from 
which the most famous passage, pro- 
phetic of the development of the middle 
west, is appended : 

"I see, 1 sec, 
A thousand kingdoms rais'd, cities, and men 
Xum'rous as sand upon the ocean shore; 
Th' Ohio then shall glide by many a town 
Of note: and where the Mississippi stream, 
By forests shaded now runs weeping on, 
Nations shall grow and States not less in fame 
Than Greece and Rome of old: we too shall 

boast 
Our .Me.xanders. Pompeys, Heroes, kings 
That in the womb of time yet dormant lie 
Waiting the joyful hour of life and light. 
O snatch us hence, ye muses! to those days 
When, through the veil of dark antiquity. 
Our sons shall hear of us as tilings remote, 
That blossom'd in the morn of days. .■Mas! 
How could I weep that we were born so soon, 
In the beginning of more hajipy times!" 

The elder Hurr and William Bradford 
were friends and associates of Freneau 
during his college years, and the Amer- 
ican Whig Society owes its origin to him. 
His ability so impressed President VVith- 
erspoon that he wrote a personal letter 
to Mrs. Freneau praising Philips mental 
attainments, or good parts, as the phrase 
ran in those days. After graduating in 
1 77 1. Freneau became second master in 
a school in Maryland, afterward known 
as Washington Academy. 

During the suminer of 1775, Philip 
Freneau came to New York and devoted 
himself to writing. As a publicist and 
poet, he attacked the British. The "Yoy- 
age to Boston" and "General Gage's Solil- 
oquy" were written at this time. The 
next two years were spent on the Island 
of Vera Cruz, on the estate of Captain 
Hanson, where he wrote "Santa Cruz," 
"The House of Night," and "A Jamaica 
h'uneral." In 1778 he returned by way of 
Bermuda to Mount Pleasant, wliere 
"America Independent" was written. 
During 1779, Freneau was a frequent 



271 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



contributor to Brackenridge's "United 
States Magazine." 

The next two years were devoted to 
the sea, cruising between New York and 
the West Indies. On May 26, 1780, Fre- 
neau's ship was captured by the British, 
and he, among others, was remanded to 
the prison ship in New York Harbor, 
where he came so ill with fever that the 
authorities were prevailed upon to re- 
lease him on July 12th. 

From 1781-1784, Freneau lived in 
Philadelphia, employing himself, editing 
the "F^reeman's Journal or North Ameri- 
can Intelligencer," owned by Francis 
Bailey. In this work he was successful, 
but, drawn into a controversy with Os- 
wald, editor of "The Gazette," Freneau 
became discouraged and resigned his 
editorship. Freneau's writings at this 
period showed his proud impetuous na- 
ture, his love of all freedom and dislike 
of any sort of tyranny. He was a firm 
believer in the rights of women, conser- 
vation of forests, temperance, kindness 
to animals, and the abolition of negro 
slavery. Our modern theories are not so 
new after all. Discouraged in his liter- 
ary career, Freneau returned to the sea, 
and sailed as master of the brig "Drom- 
illy," for Kingston, Jamaica, June 24, 
1780, and the next ten years were de- 
voted to the maritime service. 

On April 15, 1790, Freneau married 
Eleanor Forman, daughter of Samuel 
Forman, of Monmouth county, New Jer- 
sey, and settled down to a life ashore. 
Returning to literature, Freneau found 
it a difficult matter to support a family 
in that profession, and in July, 1791, 
yielding to the persuasions of Madison 
and other friends, accepted a clerkship 
for foreign languages in the Department 
of State, offered him by Thomas Jeffer- 
son with the understanding that its 
modest salary of $250 a year should be 
eked out by other work. Jefferson him- 



self suggested the establishment of a 
paper of Whig proclivities as competitor 
to "The Gazette of the United States," 
published by Fenno. August i6th, Fre- 
neau received his appointment and, be- 
taking himself to Philadelphia, on Mon- 
day, October 31st, published the first 
number of the "National Gazette," a bi- 
weekly paper. "The National Gazette" 
ran for two years and became the most 
powerful organ of a republican form of 
government. Freneau, like many others, 
feared a return to monarchial ideas and 
devoted his pages to a crusade for his 
principles. He boldly attacked Adams, 
Hamilton and even Washington himself. 
Jefferson valued Freneau's efforts. He 
said "His paper has saved out Constitu- 
tion, which was galloping fast into 
monarchy and has been checked by no 
one means so powerfully as by that 
paper." The "National Gazette" was dis- 
continued in 1793 from lack of financial 
support, partly due to the outbreak of 
yellow fever in Philadelphia and partly to 
a reaction of conservative people offend- 
ed by Freneau's rabid support of Citizen 
Genet, Minister to the United States from 
the French Republic, who made himself 
obnoxious to the many by his efforts to 
obtain the endorsement of our govern- 
ment for France. 

After a visit to his brother Peter, an 
influential citizen of Charleston, Freneau 
removed with his family again to Mt. 
Pleasant, became county printer and 
])rinted and published a small paper call- 
ed the "New Jersey Chronicle," which 
lived a year or two. In "The Chronicle" 
were printed some of Freneau's best 
prose efforts, notably "On Monarchial 
and Mixed Forms of Government," 
"Observations of Monarchy," and other 
political sketches and satires on Ameri- 
can manners and customs. In 1795 he 
printed the most interesting edition of 
his own poems. 



272 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



"The Time Piece and Literary Com- 
panion" made its debut in March, 1797. 
Less of politics and more of tasteful 
prose and poetry appeared in its pages. 
Many women were its contributors, not- 
ably Eliza Lawrence, sister of Captain 
James Lawrence, of naval fame. Retir- 
ing from the "Time Piece" in September 
of the same year, Freneau devoted him- 
self to farming at Mount Pleasant, varied 
by writing verses and letters on various 
interesting and important subjects, many 
of which appeared in the "Aurora" under 
the nom dc plume of Robert Slender, O. 
S. M. (One of the Swinish Multitude). 
These were some of the best prose he 
ever wrote. 

Like many literary men. always in pe- 
cuniary straits, Freneau returned to the 
sea again in 1799, and until 1807 com- 
manded various merchant ships. At 
fifty-five he retired from the sea and for 
many years lived quietly at Mount 
Pleasant, still writing, managing his 
farm and in the enjoyment of his family. 

In 1809 a two-volume edition of his 
poems were published — an edition of one 
thousand volumes, and again in 1815 a 
collection was printed by David Long- 
worth, of New York, containing poems 
inspired by the War of 1812. 

When JefTerson was elected President, 
his admiration of Freneau prompted him 
to offer him a place under the govern- 
ment, which was declined. 

In 1815 Mount Pleasant was burned to 
the ground. The Freneaus moved to a 
farm two miles and a half from Freehold 
where the remainder of his life was spent. 
Returning home from Freehold on a De- 
cember night, Freneau was lost in a sud- 
den snow storm ; wandering off the 
road, he fell, breaking his hip, and was 
found in the morning frozen to death. 

Prior to the Revolution there was no 
real American literature and Freneau 
wrote the first American poems worthy 
N Y— Vol 1—18 273 



of the name. He was one of the first 
to recognize the romance of Indian life. 
His reputation was more than a local one 
and his influence on English poetry is 
generally acknowledged. From a liter- 
ary point of view he was many years 
ahead of his generation. The "Magazine 
of American History" says further — 
"Next to Washington, JefTerson and 
Hamilton, one figure assumes a promi- 
nence superior to that of all others en- 
gaged in the political contest, not so 
much perhaps by the weight of his intel- 
lect as by his versatility and vivacity and 
the keenness and the readiness of the 
weapons he brought to the contest. We 
refer to Philip Freneau. What Tyrtanus 
was to the Spartans, was Freneau to the 
Republicans or Anti-Federalists. In all 
the history of American letters or of the 
United States press, there is no figure 
more interesting or remarkable, no 
career more versatile and varied, than 
that of Philip Freneau." 



FORMAN, Joshua, 

Iiegislator. Founder of City. 

From the time that Romulus gave his 
name to "the Eternal City," the founders 
of urban centers, have been extolled in 
song and story and efifigy. So, true to 
the classic myth, our "Central City" cher- 
ishes the memory of Joshua Forman, her 
founder; and the State recognizes him as 
the herald of that intercommunication 
of her people which has contributed 
vitally to her commercial supremacy. 

Joshua Forman was born at Pleasant 
Valley, Dutchess county, September 6, 
1777, the son of Joseph and Hannah For- 
man who, previous to the Revolution, 
resided in the city of New York. Upon 
the breaking out of the war and the 
approach of the British to the city they 
fled to Pleasant Valley and lived there 
afterward. Joshua, at an early age 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



evinced a desire for a liberal education 
and, diligent in his preparatory studies, 
entered Union College, then in its incip- 
ient stage, and was graduated therefrom 
with honor in 1797. He pursued the study 
of the law under Peter W. Radclifife, Esq., 
at Poughkeepsie and the Hon. Samuel 
Miles Hopkins in New York, was admitted 
to the bar in 1800, and married Margaret, 
the daughter of the Hon. Boyd Alexander, 
M. P. from Glasgow, Scotland. He settled 
at "Onondaga Hollow" now Onondaga 
Valley, a suburb of Syracuse, where he 
practiced law successfully and manifested 
his public spirit in the development of the 
village, where he erected a large hotel and 
an attractive family residence. He was 
also mainly instrumental in the location 
of the academy which became one of the 
famous secondary institutions of the 
State and is still flourishing, the Presby- 
terian church and several business houses, 
the place aspiring in growth and hoping 
to be named as the county seat. 

But, while for years, his interest in the 
affairs of "the Hollow" continued, he en- 
gaged himself in various fields of enter- 
prize, building a mill at Oswego Falls, 
i)pening plaster beds at Camillus, boiling 
salt at Salina, et altera, prospecting for 
the site of the emporium of Central New 
York. His attention was drawn to a 
mere hamlet, in a morass, miasma laden, 
but beautiful for situation in an amphi- 
theatre amid the hills, with the sparkling 
lakelet (Onondaga) at its northern exit. 
There was a sprinkling of log houses and 
frame dwellings, a tavern and a blacksmith 
shop. In 1814, the Walton tract of some 
two hundred and fifty acres was sold to 
Forman, Wilson & Company, and in 1818 
to Daniel Kellogg and William H. Sabin. 
Judge Forman (he had served from 1813 
until 181 5 as county judge — hence, the 
title) being appointed their agent, en- 
trusted with the sole management of 
their affairs. He devoted the ensuing 



ten years to the plotting and sales of 
lands, the furthering of settlement, the 
quickening of business, the erection of 
schools and churches, and the sanitation 
of the malarial region. He did not take 
up his residence in the future city until 
1819 when it having had a variety of names 
— Bogardus Corners, South Salina, Cos- 
sit's Corners, Milan — he called it Corinth. 
A year later, John Wilkinson, then post- 
master, named it Syracuse, from its 
assumed resemblance in situation to the 
ancient Sicilian mart on the Mediter- 
ranean. When the village was incorpo- 
rated in 1825, Judge Forman became its 
first president, acclaimed by common 
assent as its founder. 

Even before he began his real estate 
operations in Syracuse he had become 
deeply interested in the project of a canal 
to connect Lake Erie and the Hudson 
and gave it much of thought and eflfort. 
He had studied the subject of canals as 
constructed in foreign countries. He had 
considered the advantages that would 
^accrue to both the State and the nation, if 
this work should be completed, and pre- 
pared an estimate of the cost of construc- 
tion, based upon statistics of the Lan- 
guedoc canal. Locally, there were many 
conferences of leading men concerning 
the great enterprize, and measures were 
taken to bring the matter before the 
public. Popular meetings were held at 
which Judge Forman was the principal 
speaker and, in the spring of 1807 the 
canal became a political issue and a union 
ticket was gotten up for the Assembly 
with Joshua Forman (Federalist) and 
John McWhorter (Republican) upon it. 
It was headed "Canal Ticket" and as such 
received the support of a large majority 
of the electors of Onondaga county. 
Early in the session of 1808, Judge For- 
man introduced the memorable resolu- 
tion, which renders his name immortal, 
directing a survey to be made "of the 



274 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



most eligible and direct route of a canal pion of its feasibility, utility and worth 
to open a communication between the until the day of its completion, 
tide waters of the Hudson and Lake And he lived to see his hopes realized 

Erie." Opposition at once manifested and to participate prominently in the 

commemoration of the event. On the 



itself in the house, mainly in the line of 
ridicule. "Judge Forman had no confi- 
dence that the general government would 
assist New York in the construction of a 
canal, but the resolution framed and 
offered by him was so worded as to give 
President Jefferson an opportunity to 
participate in the measure if he would. 
Fired with the novelty and importance 
of this project, and somewhat piqued at 
the manner of its reception by the mem- 
bers of the house, the advocate took pains 
to prepare himself thoroughly upon the 
subject and when the resolution was 
called up, he addressed the house in a 
forcible and eloquent speech in its favor. 
Fortunately the resolution was adopted 
and for this he was for years called a 
'visionary projector' and was asked a 
hundred times if he ever expected to live 
to see his canal completed ; to which he 
uniformly answered, that 'as surely as 
he lived to the ordinary age, he did ; that 
it might take ten years to prejjare the 
public mind for the undertaking, and as 
many more to accomplish it, neverthe- 
less it would be done.'" (Clark's "Onon- 
daga," Volume II., page 71). It is not 
assumed that his was the original concept 
of the work, illustrious considering the 
time and circumstances of its prosecu- 
tion. Several of the distinguished citizens 
of the State lay claim to proclaiming the 
idea ; but to Joshua Forman must ever be 
accorded the high consideration of giving 
the first authoritative expression to the 
measures taken to that end. In 1817, he 
published a series of admirable articles 
in the Onondaga "Register" in defense of 
the work; and during all the times of 
darkness, discouragement and doubt 
boldly stood forth the unflinching cham- 



occasion of its celebration. Judge For- 
man was fitly selected by the citizens of 
Onondaga county and as the president of 
Syracuse to address Governor Clinton and 
suite on the passage down the canal. 
He said : 

Gentlemen: The roar of cannon rolling from 
Lake Erie to the ocean, and reverberatinj; from 
the ocean to the lakes, ha.s announced the com- 
pletion of the Erie Canal, and you are this day 
witnesses, bearing the waters of the lakes on 
the unbroken bosom of the canal, to be mingled 
with the ocean that the splendid hopes of our 
State are realized. The continued fete, which 
has attended your boats, evinces how dear it 
was to the hearts of our citizens. It is truly 
a proud day for the State of New York. No 
one is present, who has the interest of the State 
at heart, who does not exult at the completion 
of a work fraught with such important benefits; 
and no man with an American heart that does 
not swell with pride that he is a citizen of the 
country which has accomplished the greatest 
work of the age and which has filled Europe 
with admiration of the .American character * * * 
Gentlemen, in behalf of the citizens of Syra- 
cuse and the county of Onondaga here assem- 
bled, I congratulate you on this occasion. Our 
village is the offspring of the canal and with 
the county must partake largely of its blessings. 
We were most ungrateful if we did not most 
cordially join in this great State celebration. 

Thus the founder of the city to the 
State he benefited ! Judge Forman re- 
moved to New Jersey in 1826 to super- 
intend the opening and working of a 
copper mine near New Brunswick. In 
1829, upon the invitation of (lovemor 
Van Buren, he visited Albany and sub- 
mitted to the Legislature a plan for the 
reform of the banking laws, which, as 
approved, became the celebrated Safety 
iFund Act. In 1829-30, he bought of the 



275 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



State of North Carolina a tract of some 
three hundred thousand acres and made 
his residence in Rutherfordton and 
busied himself in the promotion of his 
estate and the improvement and eleva- 
tion of the character of the village. In 
1831 he had apotheosis. After an absence 
of about five years he visited Onondaga, 
being received with signal demonstra- 
tions of joy and gratitude and a commit- 
tee of the first citizens of Syracuse pre- 
sented him with a silver pitcher bearing 
this inscription : 



A Tribute of Respect 

Presented by the 

Citizens of Syracuse 

to the 

Honorable Joshua Forman 

Founder of that Village. 



Syracuse 

(clasped hands) 

1831 



In 1846, the judge, venerable in years, 
paid a farewell visit to Syracuse, then on 
the eve of becoming a city, and was tend- 
ered a public dinner, in which prominent 
citizens participated, Harvey Baldwin, 
the first mayor, and Elias W. Leaven- 
worth, the second, delivering felicitous 
addresses. The latter was the Judge's 
son-in-law. Joshua Forman died at his 
North Carolina home, August 4, 1849. 
He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery, 
Syracuse, his tomb a stately one on the 
Leavenworth lot. 



VERPLANCK, Gulian Crommelin, 

Anthor. 

Gulian Crommelin Verplanck, son of 
Daniel and Elizabeth (Johnson) Ver- 
planck, was born in his father's house on 
Wall street. New York City, August 6, 
1786. Fle was baptized in St. Peter's 
Chapel of Trinity Parish. On account 
of his father's remarriage when he was 
three years old, he was brought up by 
his grandmother, Judith (Crommelin) 
Verplanck, and also passed some time 



with his Grandfather Johnson at Strat- 
ford, Connecticut. When eleven years 
old he entered Columbia College, gradu- 
ating in the class of 1801, being the 
youngest who ever received the degree 
of A. B. from that college. He then 
studied law in the office of Edward Liv- 
ingston, and was admitted to the New 
York bar in 1807, but he never seemed 
anxious to develop a large clientele. His 
first public appearance was in 1809, as 
Fourth of July orator in the North 
Dutch Reformed Church. He was the 
most prominent actor in the defence of a 
Columbia College student during the com- 
mencement exercises at Trinity Church 
in 181 1, for which he was fined by Mayor 
DeWitt Clinton for an infraction of law. 
The afifair took a political aspect, and 
many of his earlier writings were polit- 
ical in character, the most important of 
which was "The State Triumvirate," a 
satire aimed at DeWitt Clinton and his 
allies, and to preserve the secrecy of 
authorship of these satirical, epigram- 
matic verses, the volume was inscribed 
"to G. C. V." 

He became a contributor to the "An- 
alectic Magazine," edited by Washington 
Irving, in 1813. Three years afterward 
he went abroad and toured Europe for 
the benefit of his wife's health, not re- 
turning until the fall of 1818, and his 
letters from abroad were so entertaining 
that they were edited and then delivered 
as lectures by Mr. Hart. Upon his re- 
turn to America he delivered an anniver- 
sary discourse before the New York Hos- 
pital which established his literary repu- 
tation. Lie was fond of reading and 
politics, was an ardent and active politi- 
cian, and was elected by the "Bucktail" 
party (opposed to DeWitt Clinton) a 
member of the New York Assembly in 
1819, and sat there four years. In 1825 
he was sent to Congress, remaining there 
through four terms, and one of his lead- 
76 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ing acts was to secure the extension of 
the period of copyright. While there he 
agitated the right of Congress to impose 
a protective tariff, and came into direct 
conflict with the redoubtable Henry 
Clay. He was elected to the State Sen- 
ate in 1838, and was a controlling power 
in the Court of Errors, serving until 
1841. He was appointed a professor in 
the Theological Seminary of the Protest- 
ant Episcopal church about the year 
1819. He was an earnest student of 
Shakespeare, and in 1847 edited a new 
edition of his works, which was pub- 
lished through Harper Brothers. For up- 
wards of half a century he was a trustee 
of the Society Library, for forty-four 
years a Regent of the University of the 
State of New York ; the longest term 
which any Regent has had, and was 
vice-chancellor from 1858 until his death ; 
twenty-four years president of the Board 
of Emigration, and one of the hospitals 
on Ward's Island has been named in his 
memory. He was an active member of the 
New York Historical Society, a trustee of 
Columbia College, for twenty-six years, 
vestryman of Trinity Church in New 
York City, also a warden ; for many 
years one of the governors of New York 
Hospital, a member of the Sketch Club, 
a working member of the Century Club, 
and for more than fifty years one of the 
most prominent literary men of New 
York. He published a number of essays 
and addresses. He was an anti-slavery 
Democrat during the rebellion, and a 
firm believer in State rights. 

Mr. Verplanck married, in New York 
City, October 2, 181 1, Mary Elizabeth 
Fenno, daughter of John Ward and 
Mary (Curtis) Fenno. Her father was 
originally of Boston, but later of Phil- 
adelphia, where he published a news- 
paper in the interest of the Federal party, 
called the "United States Gazette." She 



was of weak constitution, and died at 
Paris, France, April 29, 1817, her remains 
being interred in the cemetery of Pere 
La Chaise. They were the parents of 
two children — William Samuel and Gul- 
ian. Mr. Verplanck died in his home on 
Fourteenth street. New York, March 18, 
1870, and was buried in the cemetery of 
Trinity Church, Mshkill, New York. 



HOFFMAN. Ogden, 

In the "History of the Bench and Bar 
of New York" it is said of this accom- 
plished lawyer: "He has been styled the 
Erskine of the American bar. He was 
probably the most consummate criminal 
lawyer that America has produced. He 
was polished, suave and courteous, and 
never resorted to bullying or brow-beat- 
ing witnesses, or to any other professional 
tricks * * * Besides the criminal cases he 
was engaged in, he also had a large civil 
practice. He was among the lawyers 
employed in the Parish will contest, and 
made his last forensic effort in this suit." 

He was born in New York City, May 
3' 1793. son of Josiah Ogden and Mary 
v'Colden) Hoffman, cousin of Murray 
Hoffman, the jurist and legal writer, and 
a half-brother of Charles Fenno Hoffman, 
the founder of the "Knickerbocker Maga- 
i-ine." 

Being designed for the law, he pursued 
a classical course at Columbia College, 
and was graduated in 1812. Desiring to 
enter upon a naval career, his father re- 
luctantly gave his consent, and on De- 
cember 31, 1814, he procured his appoint- 
ment as midshipman, and he was assigned 
to the "President," under Captain De- 
catur. With his commander, he was taken 
prisoner in 1813, in the desperate engage- 
ment between the "President" and four 
British frigates, resulting in the sur- 



277 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Tender of the "President." After his re- 
lease, he again served under the gallant 
Decatur in the war with the Barbary 
States. He resigned from the navy in 
1816, Captain Decatur commending the 
courage and presence of mind he had 
often displayed, but regretting that he 
should prefer to exchange "an honorable 
profession for that of a lawyer." 

He immediately took up the study of 
law with his father, completing it under 
a lawyer of Goshen, Orange county, New 
York, whose partner he became upon his 
admission to the bar of that place. In 
1823 he was appointed district attorney 
of Orange county. He was elected as a 
Democrat to the State Assembly in 1825, 
and on the adjournment of the State 
Legislature in 1826 he removed to New 
York City to become the law partner of 
Hugh Maxwell, then district attorney 
Taking exception to the bank measures 
of President Jackson, Mr. Hoffman 
joined the Whig party, and in 1828 was 
the successful candidate of that party for 
the State Legislature, where, as a mem- 
ber of the judiciary committee, he sug- 
gested various improvements of practice 
and procedure. He became the successor 
of Mr. Maxwell as district attorney in 
1829, and held that office with credit for 
six years. He was elected to Congress 
in 1836, and served through the Twenty- 
fifth and Twenty-sixth Congresses as a 
member of the committee on foreign 
affairs. In 1841, at the conclusion of his 
second term, he received from President 
Harrison appointment as United States 
District Attorney for New York, in which 
position he served until 1845, when he 
resigned. In 1853 he was elected Attor- 
ney-General of the State of New York, 
and served two years. One of his sons 
was the United States District Judge of 
California from the time of its admission 
to the Union until 1891. He died in New 
York City, May i, 1856. 



HUGHES, Right Rev. John, 

Roman Catholic Prelate. 

The Right Rev. John Hughes, first 
Roman Catholic Archbishop of the Arch- 
diocese of New York, was born at Anna- 
loghan, Tyrone county, Ireland, June 24, 
1797, the son of Patrick Hughes, a re- 
spectable farmer of limited means who 
emigrated to America in 1816, and pur- 
chased a small farm near Chambersburg, 
Pennsylvania. 

John Hughes was the third of a family 
of seven children. He received his early 
education at a small school in Augher, 
and afterwards attended the high school 
at Auchnacloy, in Ireland. From early 
childhood he evinced a strong inclination 
to become a priest, but by a train of un- 
fortunate circumstances his education 
was so far interrupted that for a time his 
hope of entering the priesthood was aban- 
doned. As he had no taste for farm life, 
his father placed him with a friend who 
was a gardener at Favor Royal, the fam- 
ily seat of the Montrays. There John 
learned horticulture, and devoted his 
leisure to study. In 1817 he followed his 
father to America, securing employment 
at Baltimore, and in 1818 he obtained a 
position at Mt. St. Mary's College, Em- 
mitsburg, Maryland, where in return for 
his services he was to receive private 
instruction until he should be able to 
enter the regular classes and teach the 
younger scholars. He was admitted as a 
regular student at the fall term of the 
following year. He attained little dis- 
tinction in the study of rhetoric and polite 
literature, but when he entered upon his 
philosophical and theological course, his 
powerful mental faculties quickly showed 
themselves. In 1825 he was ordained 
deacon, and October 15, 1826, was elevat- 
ed to the priesthood at St. Joseph's 
Church, Philadelphia, Bishop Conwell 
officiating. He was appointed to the mis- 



278 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



sion of Bedford, at that time a wild rough 
district in the western part of Pennsyl- 
vania, but was soon afterward called to 
Philadelphia and placed in charge of St. Jo- 
seph's Church, where his sermons attract- 
ed general attention. In 1831-32 he built 
the Church of St. John, which under his 
rectorship became the most prominent 
Roman Catholic church in the city. He 
was proposed for the coadjutor bishopric 
of Philadelphia when he had been but 
three years a priest. The diocese was in 
a very disturbed state at that time, owing 
to disputes over the trustee system of 
church government. Father Hughes was 
from the first a strong opponent of this 
method of government, made use of every 
opportunity to express his disapproval, 
and its ultimate abandonment in Phila- 
delphia was in a great degree due to his 
efforts. The Roman Catholic church of 
that time was of little importance in 
America ; there were but few priests, the 
-churches were small, the congregations 
mainly poor, and the educational institu- 
tions of small importance, while the dio- 
ceses were far too large for proper super- 
vision. The anti-Catholic agitation was 
beginning in America, owing to the rapid 
progress catholicity was making, and the 
undue prominence the secular press gave 
to church controversies. Among the many 
able men in the church none of the pre- 
lates, except Bishop England, of Charles- 
town, chose to indulge in controversy. 
It was Father Hughes, therefore, who ac- 
cepted the challenge made by Rev. John 
R. Breckenridge, a Presbyterian minister, 
in 1830, to discuss the question "Is the 
P'rotestant religion the religion of Christ ?" 
Though only a young priest at the time, 
his innate pugnacity, invincible courage, 
and skill in debate, combined with the 
faculty of an emphatic presentation of his 
case, made him peculiarly fitted to accept 
the challenge. He was also well inform- 
ed on those branches of theology and 



history that would be of greatest assist- 
ance in debate. The controversy was 
carried on for several months in the 
Catholic and Presbyterian journals, and 
excited so much attention that the articles 
were afterward collected and published in 
book form, and had an extensive circula- 
tion. In 1834 Mr. Breckenridge renewed 
his challenge, proposing an oral discus- 
sion on the subject "Is the Roman Cath- 
olic religion, in any or in all of its prin- 
ciples and doctrines, inimical to civil or 
religious liberty?" This debate was also 
published in book form, and passed 
through several editions. 

Father Hughes was appointed coadju- 
tor to Bishop Dubois, of New York, No- 
vember 3, 1837, and on January 8, 1838, 
was consecrated at the Cathedral of 
St. Patrick, Mott street. New York City, 
titular bishop of Basiliopolis, and coadju- 
tor to the bishop of NewYork. Two weeks 
afterward Bishop Dubois was stricken 
with paralysis, and the entire manage- 
ment of the diocese fell to the young co- 
adjutor. The see then comprised the en- 
tire State of New York and a part of 
New Jersey, and there but forty priests 
to minister to the wants of the people. 
The churches were deeply in debt, and 
entirely under control of lay trustees. It 
was necessary, therefore, to reorganize 
the diocese almost from its foundation. 
The first thing that drew general atten- 
tion to Bishop Hughes and indicated the 
vigorous policy that he proposed to adopt 
in the liocese, was his opposition to the 
management of church affairs, temporal 
and spiritual, by lay trustees, which 
resulted in the complete annihilation of 
that system. He determined to consoli- 
date the church debts, take them entirely 
from out of the supervision of the lay- 
men, and have the titles made in his own 
name. This measure was bitterly op- 
posed, and was at first only partially suc- 
cessful, hut. with his wonted firmness of 



279 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



character, Bishop Hughes maintained his 
ground. The most urgent debts were in 
this way liquidated, and an harmonious 
understanding obtained. Before his death 
he had the satisfaction of seeing the 
churches more than quadrupled in num- 
ber, and most of them free from debt. 
He founded the Theological Seminary at 
Troy ; induced a number of religious 
orders to enter the diocese, particularly 
those engaged in teaching, and did much 
to promote free parish schools. In 1838 
he purchased property at Fordham, 
Westchester county, New York, and 
there founded St. John's College. He 
possessed a powerful personal influence 
over the Catholics in his diocese, and was 
an able and popular leader. In 1840-42 
he was engaged in the discussion of the 
public school question, which brought 
him even more prominently before the 
public. He directed his energies par- 
ticularly against the Public School Society, 
a private corporation that had controlled 
the management of the public schools of 
New York City, distributing the money 
provided by the municipal government 
for their support, and selecting the books 
to be used. After fighting the Public 
School Society two years on the platform, 
through the press, and in the Legislature, 
the bishop secured its overthrow. At 
the time of the "Know-Nothing" riots 
in 1844, when there was danger that 
the disturbances which had taken place in 
Philadelphia in May of that year would 
be repeated in New York City, he warned 
the enemies of Catholicism, in unmistak- 
able terms, against any attempt to molest 
the property of the church, and told the 
mayor that if a single Catholic church 
was fired he would not answer for the 
consequences. The "Freeman's Journal" 
was then under his control, and he had an 
extra edition printed in which he cau- 
tioned the Catholics not to attend any 
public meetings, especially the ones call- 



ed by the "Native Americans" to be held in 
the City Hall Park. He advised Mayor 
Robert H. Morris, in strong terms, to 
prevent the demonstration, and boldly 
asserted that the Catholics would fight 
if attacked. How far the mayor was in- 
fluenced by this conference will never be 
known, but it is a matter of record that 
no disturbance occurred in New York at 
that time, or when the riots occurred 
again in Philadelphia. 

In 1844, the cares of the diocese having 
become too onerous for one administra- 
tor. Rev. Dr. McCloskey was consecrated 
coadjutor to Bishop Hughes. In 1846, 
while attending the sixth council of Bal- 
timore, he was summoned to Washing- 
ton by James Buchanan, then Secretary 
of State, ostensibly to consult regarding 
the appointment of Catholic chaplains for 
the army, then engaged in the Mexican 
War. but it is believed that the real object 
of his being called there was to secure 
his services as a special peace ambassador 
to Mexico. Bishop Hughes declined the 
mission, and its exact nature remains un- 
known. In 1847 he was invited by John 
Ouincy Adams, John C. Calhoun and 
other distinguished statesmen, to preach 
before Congress in the capitol at Wash- 
ington, and chose as his subject, "Chris- 
tianity the only Source of Moral, Social 
and Political Regeneration." In 1850 
New York was elevated to an archiepis- 
copal see, with Boston. Buffalo. Hartford, 
and Albany as suffragan sees, and Arch- 
bishop Hughes went to Rome to receive 
the pallium at the hands of the Pope. 
In 1854 the first provincial council of New 
York was held, and was attended by 
seven suffragans. Archbishop Hughes 
soon afterward visited Rome, with other 
American prelates who were invited by 
Pope Pius IX. to take part in the cere- 
monies attendant upon the definition of 
the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. 
On August 15, 1858, he laid the corner- 



280 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



stone of the new Cathedral of St. Patrick, 
Fifth avenue and Fiftieth street, New 
York City, which is today one of the 
handsomest churches in America. 

As soon as the Civil War was well 
under way, Archbishop Hughes placed 
himself on the side of the government, 
and insisted that the most energetic 
measures should be adopted for the sup- 
port of the national authority ; and when 
his friend, William H. Seward, was ap- 
pointed Secretary of State, he wrote him 
every few days, informing him concern- 
ing the state of feeling among the people. 
President Lincoln, in an autogra])h letter, 
bore testimony to the value of the advice 
given. It was but natural that Secretary 
Seward should turn to him when it was 
decided to send unoiificial representatives 
to European governments to present cor- 
rect facts in regard to the causes of the 
war, and the vastness of the issues in- 
volved. He accepted the mission and left 
the country as plenipotentiary, and, while 
abroad, exerted a potent influence in be- 
half of the Union cause. After his return 
home he became involved in a contest 
with Erastus Brooks, editor of the New 
York "Express," and a member of the 
State Senate, on the question of the tax- 
ation of church property. Mr. Brooks 
supported a bill in the Legislature, de- 
signed to vest the title of all church prop- 
erty in trustees, and stated that Arch- 
bishop Hughes owned property in the 
city of New York aggregating $5,000,000. 
The archbishop corrected the statement, 
declaring the property was not his, but 
belonged to the church. A long discus- 
sion in the newspapers was the result, 
and the archbishop subsequently collected 
the letters on both sides, and published 
them in a volume, with an introduction 
reviewing the trustee system. The bill 
which was passed and gave rise to this 
discussion, was repealed by the Legisla- 
ture in 1863. Archbishop Hughes was 



engaged in controversies of one descrip- 
tion or another from the time he crossed 
swords with Mr. Breckenridge until the 
closing days of his life, and to the end 
was prominently before the people. His 
last public address was delivered during 
the draft riots in New York City in July, 
1863, at the request of Governor Seymour, 
who believed his influence might mitigate 
the excitement then raging in the city. 
He preached his last sermon in June of 
the same year, at the dedication of a 
church. 

Archbishop Hughes was an extraordi- 
nary man. He had that in him which 
would have made him distinguished in 
any position, and under any circum- 
stances. On two occasions the United 
States made official application to Rome 
to have him made a cardinal, so highly 
were his qualities appreciated by the na- 
tion. He was thoroug'hly devoted to the 
country of his adoption, and, while enter- 
taining a deep affection for his native 
land, had little sympathy with the Irish 
revolutionary party, and discountenanced 
the majority of the Irish Catholic parties, 
regarding with disfavor all schemes that 
led to the separation of the Irish in 
America from the natives of the country. 
He had a massive and well formed head, 
and a fine physique. Generally regarded 
as a severe man, he was at heart kind, 
even to those with whom he had had the 
most bitter controversies. He was a man 
of simple habits, and led an irreproach- 
able private life. He was a strong, direct 
speaker, whose natural delivery and en- 
gaging presence in the pulpit lent a 
charm to his utterances. He witnessed 
wonderful changes in the church during 
his administration, all in the line of ad- 
vancement, and was raised to eminence at 
a time when a man of his force, persist- 
ency, and combative disposition was im- 
peratively required. His copious writ- 
ings were generally hurriedly done, but 



281 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



had the faculty of engaging the public, 
and attaining the end for which they were 
written. His miscellaneous works, be- 
sides those already noticed, include a 
number of controversial, historical and 
expository lectures, pamphlets, letters, 
etc., which were collected and published 
in two volumes entitled "Complete 
Works of the Most Rev. John Hughes, 
D. D." Lawrence Ivehoe published his 
lectures in two volumes of pamphlets, 
letters, etc., prefaced by a brief biog- 
raphy ; and John R. G. Hassard wrote tne 
"Life of the Most Rev. John Hughes, D. 
D." Archbishop Hughes died in New 
York City, January 3, 1864. 



HARPER Brothers, 

Early New York Publisher. 

The famous publishing house of Harper 
& Brothers, in New York, owes its estab- 
lishment to two brothers — James and 
John Harper — and two younger brothers, 
Joseph Wesley Harper and Fletcher 
Harper, who became associated with them 
later. All were sons of Joseph and Eliz- 
abeth (Kollyer) Harper, and grandsons 
of James Harper, an English Methodist, 
who came to America about 1740, and 
settled at Newtown, Long Island, New 
York. He was an educated man, and 
served as a school teacher. 

James Harper, oldest of the sons of 
Joseph Harper, was born in Newtown, 
New Y'ork, .^pril 13, 1795. When sixteen 
years old, he was apprenticed to Paul and 
Thomas Seymour, printers, in New 
York City, and became a skilled press- 
man. In i<Si7, with his brother, John 
Harper, he established a small printing 
office in Dover street. New York, where 
they printed books to order, and in April, 
1818, Locke's "Essay Upon the Human 
Understanding" appeared, bearing the 
imprint of J. & J. Harper. When the two 
younger brothers, Joseph Wesley and 

28 



Fletcher, were admitted as partners in 
1833, the firm was changed to Harper & 
Brothers. James Harper superintended 
the mechanical operations of the estab- 
lishment, and during his business career 
daily visited all the departments. It was 
on his initiative that the publication of 
"Harper's Monthly Magazine" was enter- 
ed upon. In 1844 he was elected mayor 
of New York on the Native American 
ticket. He was a prominent Methodist, 
a strong temperance advocate, and a 
member of the volunteer fire department. 
He died at St. Luke's Hospital, New 
York City, from injuries received by be- 
ing thrown from his carriage, while riding 
in Central Park, March 27, 1869. 

John Harper was born in Newtown, 
New York, January 22, 1797. He was 
apprenticed to Jonathan Seymour, a 
printer in New York City, became a skill- 
ed compositor and pressman, and in 1817 
joined his brother, James Harper, in the 
printing business as J. & J. Harper. When 
the firm took the name of Harper & 
Brothers in 1833, he became the financial 
manager and purchaser of the stock, ma- 
terial and machinery. On December 10. 
1853, their extensive establishment was 
burned to the ground, entailing a loss of 
one million dollars, with insurance to 
only one-fourth of the amount. John 
Harper continued in the active manage- 
ment of the business and superintended 
the construction of a new set of fireproof 
buildings, between ClifT street and Frank- 
lin Square. Upon the death of his brother 
James in 1869 he retired from active 
business. He died in New York City, 
.\pril 22, 1875. 

Joseph Wesley Harjjer was born in 
Newtown, New York, December 25, 1801. 
He learned the trade of printer in the 
establishment of J. & J. Harper, acquired 
special skill as a proofreader, and became 
foreman of the composing room. In 1833 
he was admitted a partner in the firm of 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Harper & Brothers. He attended to the 
correspondence and read the final proofs 
of the most important works, finally as- 
suming entire charge of the literary de- 
partment. His health was always deli- 
cate, and he made frequent voyages to 
Europe. He died February 14, 1870, in 
Brooklyn, New York, where he had re- 
sided for many years. 

Fletcher Harper was born in Newtown, 
New York, January 31, 1806. He learned 
the trade of printer with the house of J. 
& J. Harper, and with his brothers James, 
John and Joseph Wesley, comprised the 
original firm of Harper & Brothers, 1833- 
1869, of which he was the youngest mem- 
ber. The firm removed from Dover street 
to Cliff street in 1833, and Fletcher for 
a time was foreman of the composing 
room, and finally assumed charge of the 
publishing departments. At his sugges- 
tion "Harper's Weekly" and "Harper's 
Bazaar" were started. Like his older 
brothers, he was a devout Methodist. He 
died in New York City, May 29, 1877. 



HILL, Rev. Nicholas, 

Revolutionary Soldier, 

Rev. Nicholas Hill, patriot of the 
Revolution, eldest son of Henry and 
Martha (Forse) Hill, was born in Schen- 
ectady, New York, December 22, 1766; 
died in Florida, Montgomery county. 
New York, June 14, 1857. 

An incident which led to his and his 
brother's enlistment in the Continental 
army occurred in 1774, when Nicholas 
was but eight years of age. His father 
had made a remark in the presence of 
British military officers, which was con- 
strued by them as disrespectful to their 
sovereign. For this alleged offence he 
was overpowered and unmercifully whip- 
ped in the presence of his wife and the 
two children, they being helpless to in- 
terfere. The indignities and insults 



heaped on their father rankled in the 
hearts of his two children, and they deter- 
mined to avenge this outrageous treat- 
ment of their father the first opportunity. 
In the winter of 1776-77, Nicholas, then 
but ten years of age, together with his 
brother, joined Captain Hicks's company, 
Second New York Regiment, as drummer 
boys, and continued until the close of the 
war, being in active service during the 
entire period. Nicholas was not regu- 
larly mustered in for the first two years 
on account of his extreme youth. His 
discharge, dated June 8, 1783, signed by 
General Washington as commander-in- 
chief of the army, states that "Nicholas 
Hill, Sergeant, in the ist New York Regi- 
ment, having faithfully served the 
United States five years, and being en- 
listed for the war only, is hereby dis- 
charged from the American army." At 
the foot of this discharge is a memoran- 
dum, signed by Cornelius V^an Dyck, 
lieutenant-colonel, as follows: "The 
above Sergeant Nicholas Hill has been 
honored with the badge of merit for five 
years faithful service." On the discharge 
is indorsed the following, in the hand- 
writing of Mr. Hill : "My captain's name 
was Benjamin Hicks." The discrepan- 
cies which appear between the first and 
second statement are probably accounted 
for by the charges which occurred in the 
reorganization and consolidation of the 
regiments, and the reenlistment of men 
and officers. 

The first important service of young 
Hill was rendered soon after he enlisted. 
He was sent by General (then Colonel) 
Gansevoort to convey to headquarters at 
Albany a message of an anticipated at- 
tack by the Indians on Fort Stanwix 
(Rome, New York), in the winter of 
1777. After traveling half the distance, 
his companion, a young man named 
Snook, who started with him, met with an 
accident and dropped out. and young 



283 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Hill, finding he was being pursued by bered to his dying day every detail con- 
hostile Indians, ran all night over the nected with that event. The facts so 
crusted snow, and safely delivered his often narrated were so deeply impressed 



message at headquarters. His descrip- 
tion of the scene as he approached Al- 
bany, and the impression it made on him 
at the time, was very graphic. He said, 
"the smoke from the forts and houses 
stood up through the still morning air 
like a forest of ghostly white tree tops." 

He accompanied Sullivan's expedition 
against the Indians, was with the army at 
Morristown in 1779-80, and witnessed the 
surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown. 
He lived to tell the story of his sufferings 
at Morristown ; and stated that on one 
occasion, when the army was on the 
verge of starvation, rations of a gill of 
whiskey to a man were distributed among 
the troops. A great Irishman named 
Valentine kindly offered to share with 
him his own allowance, and gave him 
about a teaspoonful, but in his exhausted 
condition it overpowered him, and he 
laid down apparently lifeless. The Irish- 
man took him on his back and carried 
him for miles before he reached a place 
w'here he could receive proper treatment. 
Subsequently his hardships and suffer- 
ings were considerably lessened through 
the kindness of Baron Von Steuben, who 
became interested in him and took him 
to his own tent, and finally offered to 
adopt him and his younger brother. 
Nicholas declined the generous offer, 
little thinking then, what the Baron knew 
through masonic information, that he 
was an orphan, both of his parents having 
died soon after he entered the army. 

In the summer of 1779 his regiment, 
under Colonel Van Schaick, was sent to 
cooperate with General Sullivan in his 
expedition against the Indians alons;^ the 
Chemung valley, and he participated in 
the exciting scenes of that campaign. He 
was present at the siege of Yorktown and 
the surrender of Cornwallis, and remem- 



upon the mind of his surviving wife (his 
fourth wife, to whom he was married in 
1834), that on her visiting Yorktown at 
the centennial anniversary of the battle 
in October, 1881, in company with sev- 
eral friends from Brooklyn, she was en- 
abled to correct the location of several 
points of interest on the battlefield, and 
show the position occupied by some of 
the New York troops, and other divis- 
ions of the American army, by landmarks 
as described years before by her husband. 
This incident greatly interested General 
Hancock, who took pains to investigate 
and found that the old lady was right. 

After the close of the war, this youth- 
ful patriot returned to his home in Sche- 
nectady, there to receive the first infor- 
mation that his father and mother had 
died soon after he left them. His sister 
Martha and brother Henry were all that 
remained of the family of which he was 
the eldest surviving. The cruelty which 
had inspired his patriotism and converted 
the lad into a soldier had broken his 
father's health and led to his untimely 
death, and the dangers and excitement 
of the war, surrounded as his mother 
was at that place by hostile Indians, 
finally broke her spirit, so that, wearied 
of waiting for the return of her boys, 
who had gone forth to avenge the 
brutal treatment of their father, she laid 
herself down to die, buoyed up only with 
the hope of that "final reunion on the 
other side." The two were laid side by 
side in the old Schenectady cemetery. 

Nicholas Hill soon after removed to 
Florida, Montgomery county, to a small 
hamlet which he called Shalletsbush 
(probably Scotch Bush, where one of the 
most noted sulphur springs are located). 
He grew up with the country, and soon 
forgot his early privations and suffer- 



284 




L 



JOSIAH OGDEN HOFFMAN 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ings in his efforts to minister to the hap- 
piness and comfort of others. He was 
one of the most unselfish of men, and 
generous to that degree that neglects duty 
to self. He was never idle, and by his 
industry accumulated a fair competenc*^. 
He was a man of advanced thought in 
his religious views, and utterly free from 
that cant and outward demonstration of 
piety so common in his day. After care- 
ful study and preparation he decided to 
enter the ministry of the Methodist de- 
nomination, and in 1803, being then thir- 
ty-five years of age, he was regularly 
ordained at a Methodist Conference held 
at a place called Ash Grove, near the 
Vermont line. As was the rule for all 
ministers of that denomination, he was 
an itinerant, and his "circuit" often em- 
braced a wide extent of country. He was 
not dependent on the meagre support of 
voluntary contributions, as were most 
Methodist preachers of that day. The 
products of his farm not only yielded him 
a fair support, but enabled him ofttimes 
to minister to the necessities and suffer- 
ings of others. He was a man of deep 
piety, and as a preacher he was simple, 
earnest and direct, yet fearless in pro- 
claiming the truth as he believed it. He 
was forceful and often eloquent as he 
warmed up to his subject. He lived to 
be ninety years of age, and was strong, 
vigorous and healthy up to the time of 
his final sickness, the result of a fall and 
a broken limb. He died in June, 1857. 
Mr. Hill was married four times — first, 
to Anna Newkirk ; second, to Catharine 
Rowe; third, to Sarah Mosier; and 
fourth, to Sarah Hegeman ; and was the 
father of four children. 



sey, April 14, 1766, son of Nicholas and 
Sarah (Ogden) Hoffman, and a descend- 
ant of Herman Hoffman, a native of 
Revel, Sweden. 

He became one of the most eminent 
members of the New York bar, his 
specialty being the examination of wit- 
nesses and the management of juries. He 
served in the State Legislature during 
1791-95, and was again elected in 1797. 
In the following year he became Attor- 
ney-General of the State of New York, 
and in 1808 was chosen recorder of the 
city of New York, continuing in this 
ofifice until 1815. Later he was appointed 
First Associate Judge of the Superior 
Court of New York, retaining the seat 
until his death. Judge Hoffman was the 
associate and often the opponent of Ham- 
ilton, Kent, Ambrose Spencer, Emmet, 
Wells, and other eminent jurists, whose 
profound learning and high order of 
eloquence raised them to the sphere of 
the Burkes, the Sheridans and the Cur- 
rans. He was president of the Philo- 
logical Society, and rode at the head of 
the procession of that organization dur- 
ing the celebration of the adoption of the 
Federal Constitution in New York City, 
1788. 

Judge Hoffman was married (first) on 
February 16, 1789, to Mary, second 
daughter of David and Ann (Willet) 
Colden, of Coldenham, Orange county, 
New York, and by this union had four 
children. His wife died in 1797, and he 
was married the second time, August 7, 
1802, to Maria, daughter of John Ward 
and Mary (Curtis) Fenno. Judge Hoff- 
man died in New York City, January 24, 
1837- 



HOFFMAN, Josiah Ogden, 

Jnrist, Head of Tammany Hall. 



YOUNG, John, 

Lawyer, Politician, Statesman. 

If, after long controversy. New York 



Josiah Ogden Hoffman, jurist and 
third Grand Sachem of the Tammany failed to retain possession of the soil of 
Society, was born in Newark, New Jer- Vermont, she has yet had the satisfaction 

285 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of welcoming to her own borders much 
of the brain and brawn of "the Green 
Mountains," to invigorate her manhood 
and advance her civiHzation. Thence 
came two governors — Wright and Young 
— to direct the destinies of this imperial 
commonwealth, the one succeeding tne 
other. Thomas Young, an emigrant from 
Vermont, came to the waiting acres of 
the Genesee Valley, early in the second 
decade of the last century, with his wife 
and only child John, who had been born 
in 1802; and settled in the town of 
Conesus, where he was, at first, an inn- 
keeper and later a farmer of sturdy inde- 
pendence and moderate estate. 

John Young, the future governor, re- 
ceived a meager education in the primi- 
tive school of the town; but, with excel- 
lent mental gifts and ambitions for a pro- 
fessional life, studied law, entering in 
1823 the office of Augustus A. Bennett — 
subsequently district attorney — at East 
Avon, supporting himself by teaching 
school and by the petty fees of justices 
courts. His clerkship was completed at 
Geneseo, the county seat, with Ambrose 
Bennett, a prominent member of the bar, 
and, until his death in 1833, an active and 
leading politician. 

Young became a counsellor of the Su- 
preme Court in 1829, having been 
admitted previously as an attorney of the 
Livingston Common Pleas, and began 
practice at Geneseo, where he continued 
to reside, save for his absences at the 
high official stations which he was called 
to fill. Shrewd, energetic, resourceful, 
adaptable, he soon acquired a superior 
standing at the bar, even in competition 
with the neighboring practitioners of 
Monroe ; and this he held throughout. 
With a positive talent for politics, he 
early enlisted in the Republican ranks, 
and was nominated for county clerk in 
the fall of 1828, being defeatd, however, 
by the candidate of the Anti-Masons, 



with which party he affiliated, a year 
later, receiving at its hands several minor 
town offices. By it he was, in 1831, 
elected to the Assembly, George W. Pat- 
terson, later lieutenant-governor, being 
his colleague from the county. In that 
body, his organization, was in a decided 
minority ; but, as a young man in the 
opposition, he was highly honored by be- 
ing appointed a member of the judiciary 
committee — the seal of approval of his 
legal capacity. He also developed a 
faculty of facile and forcible speech by 
which he won increased reputation in suc- 
ceeding Legislatures and as a represen- 
tative in Congress. He was conspicu- 
ous in his opposition to the passage of the 
resolution declaring that the charter of 
the United States bank ought not to be re- 
newed and voted against the bill increas- 
ing the salaries of the judicial officers of 
the State and for the Chenango Canal bill 
which was lost in his house — all good 
Whig doctrine, of which party he became 
an earnest member upon its formation in 

1834- 

In 1833, he married Ellen, the daughter 
of Campbell Harris, of York, by whom 
he had four children. In the fall of 1836, 
he was elected to the Twenty-fourth 
Congress to fill a vacancy caused by the 
resignation of Philo C. Fuller. His ser- 
vice therein was brief. For the ensuing 
four years, he was diligently and success- 
fully engaged in his profession. In 1849 
he returned to politics and was elected, as 
a Whig, to the Twenty-seventh Congress, 
by some 2,000 majority, from the thir- 
tieth district then, as since 1832, embrac- 
ing the counties of Livingston and Alle- 
ghany. In May, 1841, he took his seat. 
He made an enviable record both by 
speech and deed. He was steadfast in 
his allegiance to Whig principles at the 
time Tyler deserted them and followed 
unreservedly the leadership of Clay. The 
bank bills vetoed by the President, the 



286 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



distribution of the proceeds of the public 
lands and the tariff of 1842 all had his 
warm support and he cordially signed the 
manifesto, in which the Whig members 
justified the measures they had advo- 
cated and the course they had pursued. 
At the close of this Congress, Young, 
declining a renomination returned to 
private life ; but in 1844 consented to ac- 
cept the Whig nomination for the Assem- 
bly, was elected and reelected in 1845. 1" 
the latter year, he was the Whig nominee 
for Speaker, hut his party being in the 
minority, the Democratic nominee, Wil- 
liam C. Crain, was chosen. Young ap- 
proved the position of his party, relative 
to the annexation of Texas, as he had in 
Congress when the first mutterings of 
hostilities against Mexico were heard, 
but, when collision occurred on the Rio 
Grande, he made a memorable speech in 
the Assembly, upon the resolution 
authorizing the enrollment of 50,000 vol- 
unteers and appropriating moneys there- 
for. He said : 

I will go for the resolution. I could have the 
opportunity taken to evince the opinion of the 
Legislature of New York. It is known that I 
was among those who opposed the annexation 
of Texas; but that is now a foregone act. Te.xas 
is now bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh; and 
he who invades any portion of her soil, invades 
our territory — invades a part of the United 
States. I will advocate the voting of funds — the 
levying of troops to protect her rights and to 
secure her territory from invasion. No man 
can doubt it is now past doubt — that we are in 
a state of war. The country is invaded — the 
rights of our country, of our citizens, have been 
trampled upon — and I will sustain the country, 
"right or wrong." 

This was the attitude, pithily express- 
ed, of northern W^iigs, who patriotically 
upheld the government when the clash 
of arms began. Mr. Young voted for the 
law abolishing distress for rent, at the 
session of 1846 ; and generally by his veto 



and speeches manifested his disapproba- 
tion of the tenures by which the manorial 
lands were held by the tenants and his 
readiness to afford them every aid and 
protection, consistent with the provis- 
ions of the Constitution. He was not a 
member of the Constitutional Conven- 
tion of that year, but he approved the new 
organic law, with its democratic inspira- 
tion, the financial article excepted. 

His partisan and public service ren- 
dered him an available candidate for the 
chief magistracy at the Whig State Con- 
vention at Utica, September 23, 1846. 
The situation was unique. He was con- 
sidered a conservative or of that branch 
of the party, subsequently known as 
"Silver Grays," but he sympathized with 
the radicals on the anti-rent issue and it 
was that contingent which urged his pre- 
ferment as against Millard Fillmore about 
to align himself with the conservative 
element. A fraction of the convention, 
pronounced in their anti-rent sentiments 
favored Judge Ira Harris, but, on the 
third ballot, deserted Harris and voted 
for Young, thus turning the scale, the 
latter being selected by a vote of seventy- 
six to forty-five for Fillmore. Hamilton 
Fish, ranked as a Conservative, was 
named for lieutenant-governor. The 
Democrats nominated Silas Wright Jr. 
and Addison Gardiner for the two offices 
respectively ; and a district anti-rent 
party named Young and Gardiner, who 
were elected. Young's plurality being 
11,572. In the last analysis, the Anti- 
Renters and certain disaffected Demo- 
crats decided the result (q. v. Wright 
sketch). 

Governor Young's administration was. 
if not brilliant, honest, prudent, efficient 
and self-reliant. During his term, the 
Legislature was mainly occupied with 
framing the laws rendered necessary to 
carry out the provisions of the new con- 



287 



LNCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



stitution, which he endorsed. He fur- 
thered the Whig financial and canal poli- 
cies. He aided the national government 
in its vigorous prosecution of the war 
with Mexico and endorsed the resolutions 
instructing the New York Congressmen 
to vote for the prohibition of slavery in 
the territory acquired from Mexico. He 
pardoned the leading anti-renters who 
had been tried and convicted during 
Wright's tenure. There was small evi- 
dence in Young's term of what has re- 
cently been called "invisible govern- 
ment." He was governor; frankly said 
so and acted accordingly. He had, in- 
deed, been measurably relieved from the 
importunities of ofifice-seekers by the con- 
stitution that had sensibly restricted the 
appointive power and shorn it of the 
abuses and intrigues that had previously 
beset it; but such power, as he retained, 
he exercised with marked independence. 
He advocated the nomination of General 
Taylor, in 1848, with that of Fillmore 
for Vice President, with whom his rela- 
tions had long been intimate. He did not 
desire a renomination for governor and 
when he retired, January i, 1849, he was 
appointed by President Taylor sub-treas- 
urer in New York, entering upon his 
duties as such in July and continuing 
until the expiration of Fillmore's term 
as President. 

Upon his release from this responsible 
post, he again pursued his profession in 
Geneseo, and although not actively en- 
gaged in politcal affairs retained his in- 
terest therein. He was known as a 
"Silver Gray" Whig. Although, approv- 
ing of the principle of the Wilmot Pro- 
viso, he accepted the compromise meas- 
ures of 1850 and approved the adminis- 
tration of President Fillmore, putting 
himself on record in an able speech in 
New York, at a banquet in his honor, in 
which he reviewed his own political 
course, expressing his satisfaction at the 



secession of the conservative Whigs from 
the State Convention in 1850 (q. v. 
Granger sketch). He died in New York, 
April 23, 1852. 



BUTLER, Benjamin F., 

Jurist, Scholar, Cabinet Official. 

Benjamin Franklin Butler, born at 
Kinderhook Landing Columbia county, 
December 14, 1795, was of blended Celtic 
and Puritan stock, his ancestor, Jonathan, 
Irish immigrant, having married Temper- 
ance Buckingham, a daughter of one of 
the first English settlers of Connecticut. 
His father, Medad, came, in 1787, from 
Connecticut to the Hudson, and was a 
merchant, of fair education, strict integ- 
rity, and highly esteemed in his vicinage. 
He represented Columbia in the Assem- 
bly, and was an earnest Republican long 
intimate socially and politically with 
Martin Van Buren, with whom his son 
was to form even closer relations. Ben- 
jamin was the eldest of six children. He 
attended school in his native town under 
capable instructors and, as a lad, acquir- 
ed a decided fondness for the classics, 
being greatly indebted for his intellectual 
bent to a learned Presbyterian clergy- 
man of the neighborhood, who early dis- 
cerned his promise. Well grounded in 
his studies, he entered the academy at 
Hudson, where his bright gifts and pleas- 
ing manners gained him many friends as 
well as scholastic honors. Completing his 
academic curriculum, before he was sev- 
enteen years old, he was invited by Van 
Buren, then in the first flush of profes- 
sional success and surrogate of the county 
to become a student at law in his office 
at Hudson. In that connection, he at 
once evinced singular diligence and apti- 
tude and was of signal assistance to his 
preceptor in the preparation of cases. In 
1816, Van Buren removed to Albany, 
Butler, still a student, accompanying 



288 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



him. In 1818, the latter was admitted to 
the bar and immediately became a part- 
ner of Van Buren, which relation existed 
until February, 1821, when Van Buren 
was elected United States Senator. In 
1821, Butler was appointed district-attor- 
ney of Albany county, resigning this 
office in 1825 to devote himself to the re- 
vision of the statutes of the State. In 
1818, he had married a sister of Lieuten- 
ant William H. Allen, who distinguished 
himself in the engagement between the 
frigate "United States" and the British 
ship of war "Macedonian," in 1812, and 
was afterward killed by pirates in the 
Gulf of Mexico. She was a young wo- 
man of many charms and accomplish- 
ments; and the union, sundered by her 
death in 1843, was happy in associations 
and fruitful of blessings. 

The Revised Statutes — a monumental 
achievement, the zvdc meciim of the legal 
profession — involving immense labor and 
accurate information, was entrusted to a 
commission, whose personality was 
changed from time to time, the work, 
however, devolving mainly upon John C. 
Spencer and Benjamin F. Butler as did 
also that of the second edition — corriqcnda 
et addenda — approved by the Legislature 
of 1836. To this stupendous undertak- 
ing Butler, young as he was, brought a 
fine reputation, assured by important 
cases won in the civil and criminal 
courts and by appeals argued in the 
Court of Errors. Of its perfected form. 
Judge Kent said authoritatively: 

All who knew the indomitable energy of John 
C. Spencer will readily believe that his spirit 
pervaded the whole work, but judging from in- 
ternal evidence, I cannot avoid believing that 
much of the essential excellence of the Revised 
Statutes, and more of the labor which adopted 
them to our general system of jurisprudence, 
the plan and order of the work, the learning of 
the notes, the marginal references, and the ad- 

N Y-Vol I-I9 289 



mirable inde.x which accompanies it, should be 
ascribed to the labor, the patient touches of un- 
wearied art, bestowed by Mr. Butler. 

Butler seems to have regarded this as 
the chef d'oemre of his life and over his 
grave in Woodlawn cemetery are in- 
scribed the words, "A commissioner to 
revise the statutes of the State of New 
York," as Jefferson so directed the estab- 
lishment of the University of Virginia to 
be emphasized on his tomb at Monticello. 
Outside his designated duty, as above 
indicated, Butler, as a member of Assem- 
bly in 1828, convened in extra session for 
the consideration of the proposed revis- 
ion, was prominent and persuasive in 
this regard, the only reason that induced 
him to accept a seat therein being his 
desire to aid that body in its delibera- 
tions on the work which he and his col- 
leagues had submitted to it ; and his ser- 
vices were therefore invaluable. En pas- 
sim. Spencer was a senator that year, 
largely with the same purpose. Early 
in February, 1829, Butler was appointed a 
Regent of the University to v^hich, 
absorbed in his law practice and the re- 
vision, he appears not to have given 
especial heed, although appreciating the 
honor conferred. He resigned from the 
board four years later. 

He was never a politician, in the nar- 
row sense of the word, and his public 
preferments were uniformly in the line of 
his profession. Loyal to the principles 
of his party, earnest in their advocacy 
on proper occasion, and legitimately 
identifying himself with the fortunes of 
Van Buren, he became a trusted coun- 
sellor of the "Albany Regency" and gave 
to it much of valuable advice and lead- 
ing, ever on the higher range of thought 
and action. As such his probity was un- 
assailed and his honor spotless. In 1833, 
he had the opportunity for exalted 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



political distinction. William L. Marcy, 
having been elected governor, resigned 
his seat in the United States Senate and 
Butler was proffered the succession by 
the chiefs of the Democracy. Marcy be- 
ing particularly influential therein, and 
there was no doubt of his unanimous 
nomination by his party, dominant in the 
Legislature ; but he declined the invita- 
tion, adhering to his resolution "never to 
accept any office which would withdraw 
liim from his professional studies and 
pursuits." Soon afterward, he was ap- 
pointed commissioner with Theodore 
Frelinghuysen to settle the disputed 
boundary line between New York and 
New Jersey, which they — both high- 
minded men — adjusted satisfactorily to 
each State. Butler was appointed, No- 
vember 15, Attorney-General in the 
cabinet of President Jackson, his depart- 
ure from Albany being signalized by a 
meeting of citizens, without distinction 
of party, to express their regard for him 
personally and as a lawyer, Stephen Van 
Rensselaer, Abraham Van Vechten and 
other political opponents being among 
the speakers. He filled this office during 
the remainder of Jackson's term and for 
the first year of Van Buren's. His 
opinions, in phrase forceful and per- 
spicuous, evinced an intimate acquaint- 
ance with issues involved and bore the 
impress of a singularly accomplished and 
enlightened mind and are regarded as 
among the ablest of State papers of the 
time. That in which he examined the 
duties and powers of the postmaster- 
general, theretofore vaguely defined, 
elicited from his able successor, Felix 
Grundy, this striking tribute : "My dis- 
tinguished predecessor has examined this 
question so thoroughly — has brought to 
the consideration of it so much legal 
learning and has arrived at such equitable 
and reasonable conclusions, that I do not 
regard it necessary for one to spend a 



moment's time in considering it, for I 
am confident that I could arrive at no 
conclusions which would differ from his." 
And this, without specifying cases, 
individual or official, in which he made 
his mark, may well stand as the concur- 
rent testimony of his day of the qualities 
— vast learning, exact investigation and 
clear deduction — which placed Benjamin 
F. I'.utler among the country's illustrious 
jurists. 

In October, 1836, while still discharg- 
ing his duties as Attorney-General, 
President Jackson earnestly solicited him 
to act as Secretary of War, the affairs of 
the department being in tangled shape, 
with a heavy accumulation of business 
and a great lawyer was needed to 
straighten things out, as Elihu Root was 
so needed by McKinley sixty years later. 
Butler by his assiduity, care and syste- 
matic method, brought up the arrears of 
business and left the department in a 
satisfactory shape to his successor. He 
held the two offices until March 4, 1837. 

Returning to New York in January, 
1838, he resumed his law practice, taking 
charge of many important litigations, but 
in December following, was appointed 
district-attorney for the southern district 
of the State and held the same until the 
incoming of Harrison. In 1844, he headed 
the New York delegation to the Demo- 
cratic National Convention and bore a 
conspicuous part in the effort to compass 
Van Buren's nomination, making a 
powerful speech against the adoption of 
the two-thirds rule, which becoming 
effective, defeated Van Buren who re- 
ceived upon all ballotings prior to the 
decisive one, a majority of the votes. 
Deeply disappointed at the result, he 
nevertheless gave Polk his cordial sup- 
port in the campaign ensuing, being, with 
Daniel S. Dickinson, an elector-at-large. 
When Polk assumed the executive chair, 
he tendered General Butler the portfolio 



290 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of war, but the offer was declined re- 
spectfully. However, he did accept the 
appointment, March 4, 1845, to his former 
post of district-attorney, which he held 
until Taylor's accession. In 1848, induced 
by his anti-slavery convictions and his 
lifelong affection for Van Buren, he 
favored the latter's Free-Soil and "Barn- 
burner" candidacy for the Presidency. 
In the national canvass of 1852, he sus- 
tained the Democratic candidates on the 
ground that they represented sound 
Democratic doctrine and that their 
election, under existing circumstances, 
would place the entire responsibility for 
good government in the hands of that 
party, which if it should then lend itself 
to a crusade against freedom would be 
justly overthrown. When President 
Pierce disappointed the expectations of 
northern Democrats and showed himself 
wholly subservient to the slave power. 
General Butler abandoned both him and 
the Democratic party. At a memorable 
mass-meeting of citizens, in City Hall 
Park, May 15, 1854, General Butler was 
the principal speaker and declared him- 
self aggressively against any further 
alliance with the slavepower, and later 
allied himself with the newly risen Re- 
publican organization and voted for Fre- 
mont in 1856. He favored the election of 
Lincoln in i860 and stoutly upheld "the 
martyred President" in the conflict for 
nationality and freedom. 

Various activities, aside from his pro- 
fession, politics and statesmanship, in 
which General Butler was engaged, re- 
main but to be alluded to. Interested 
in the advancement of professional edu- 
cation, he prepared, upon request, a plan 
for the organization of a law school, on 
the Maynard endowment at Hamilton 
College and was asked to fill the chair 
for which it provided, but was unable to 
accept. He drafted, also at request, the 
plan for the law school connected with 



the University of the City of New York, 
which was promptly adopted by the 
council in thankful terms. He was an 
accomplished scholar in belles-lettres and 
the classics, reading the authors of 
antiquity in the original with facility and 
exploring the realms of modern litera- 
ture with enthusiasm. He was a Biblical 
student, familiar with Hebrew seers and 
poets. He was a devoted Christian, of 
the Presbyterian communion, attentive 
to its rites, fostering its institutions ana 
beneficences and illustrating its precepts 
in his conduct. His home, of which he 
was fond, was one of family affection and 
of gracious hospitality. 

He continued in the busy exercise of 
his profession, until the autumn of 1868, 
when his friends, noting that his health 
was failing, induced him to visit Europe. 
Accordingly he sailed for Havre, October 
16, landing there on the twenty-ninth. 
He proceeded thence, stopping at Har- 
fleur and Rouen, arriving in Paris, No- 
vember 3rd. In the evening of that day 
he was taken seriously ill and, his disease 
rapidly progressing, he died on the 
eighth of the month at the age of seven- 
ty-three years. 

William Allen Butler, son of Benjamin 
F , born in Albany, in 1825, graduated 
from the University of the City of New 
York, studied law with his father and 
became prominent and successful in his 
profession, especially in admiralty law. 
He was also a poet, publishing an 
academic poem entitled "The Future" 
and contributed papers in prose and verse 
to the "Democratic Review," the "Art 
Union Bulletin" and the "Literary 
World." In 1850, he issued a volume 
entitled "Barnum's Parnassus," after the 
fashion of "Rejected Addresses," and in 
1857 the poem of society. "Nothing to 
Wear," which had an enormous vogue. 
"Two Millions," of like character, appear- 
ed in 1858. 



291 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



LAPHAM, Elbridge G., 

Lawyer, Statesman. 

The Lapham family, authors, states- 
men, men of science and antiquarians, 
had its home in Norfolk county, England, 
and the family has flourished in Scotland 
from early times. Lapham is a name 
meaning "hearthstone" or "home stone" 
from the words lapis, "stone," and heim, 
meaning "home." Two of the family 
came over from England before the 
middle of the seventeenth century. 
These, Thomas and John, were pilgrim 
fathers. John Lapham, a weaver from 
Devonshire where he was born in 1625, 
settled in Providence and his descend- 
ants are now found in New York, New 
England and the West. 

His son John married Mary Russell, 
whose great-grandfather had helped 
establish at Taunton, Massachusetts, the 
first blast furnace and extensive iron 
works in this country. John Lapham, 
a descendant of Thomas, the pilgrim, 
was a soldier in the French and Indian 
War and in the Revolution. The Lap- 
hams have had their men of science, in- 
cluding I. A. Lapham, to whom we are 
indebted for the first "Weather Bureau," 
founded by him, for he was the first to 
forecast storm and sunshine. With 
Henry Paine he framed the law of 1870, 
which established the signal service at 
Washington. He was a member of 
many scientific societies and his "Antiqui- 
ties of Wisconsin" was published by the 
Smithsonian Institute in 1855. Alonzo 
Lapham, of Illinois, enlisted in the Black 
Hawk War along with Abraham Lincoln. 
The Laphams have intermarried with 
the Shermans, Hamiltons and Howlands. 
The latter were of New Bedford, and its 
most prominent representative at present 
is Mrs. Hetty Green, the richest woman 
of this country. The two most conspicu- 
ous New York Laphams were EUbridge 



Gerry Lapham, named after a signer of 
the Declaration of Independence, and 
William Gray Lapham, named after the 
richest and most prominent business man 
of Boston. Elbridge Gerry and William 
Gray Lapham were sons of Judge John 
Lapham, who came to Farminglon, 
Ontario county, in 1812. He was a 
Quaker and the meeting house is still 
standing in Farmington, which he and his 
family attended. 

Elbridge Gerry Lapham was born in 
Farmington, October 18. 1814. He and 
his brother, W. G. Lapham, were class- 
mates in the Canandaigua Academy with 
Stephen A. Douglas. He studied civil 
engineering and was employed on the 
Michigan Southern Railway. He decided, 
however, to be a lawyer and studied with 
Jared Wilson, being admitted to the bar 
in 1844, and settled for practice in Canan- 
daigua. His first partner was Jabez 
Metcalf. In 1855, he formed a partner- 
ship with James C. Smith, which con- 
tinued until the latter went upon the 
bench. This was one of the strongest 
firms in Western New York, Lapham be- 
ing especially forceful before juries and 
Smith in the appellate courts. 

Originally a Jackson Democrat, Lap- 
ham came into the Republican party, 
with the Democratic exodus thereto in 
1S56. He did the party splendid service 
on the stump throughout his career, being 
a singularly terse, epigrammatic and im- 
passioned orator, at once pointed and 
eloquent. He was a representative in the 
Forty-fourth, Forty-fifth, Forty-sixth and 
Forty-seventh Congresses, resigning from 
the latter on being elected United States 
Senator in 1881. In the lower house, he 
was notable for the fidelity and vigilance 
with which he took care of the interests 
of his constituents and for his vigor in 
debate, qualities which he continued to 
exhibit in the upper branch. The Sena- 
torial canvass of 1881, consequent upon 



292 




U ' "^ ^'-UytA.^^. 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the resignation of Senator Conkling is 
one of the most memorable in the annals 
of the State, and throughout dramatic in 
its character, prolonged for over two 
months and culminating in the return by 
compromise, July 22, 1881, between the 
two factions of the party of Lapham 
(Stalwart) to fill the Conkling vacancy 
and Warner Miller (Half-Breed) that of 
Piatt. After his senatorial service El- 
bridge G. Lapham lived in comparative re- 
tirement at Canandaigua, dying January 
18, 1890. Senator Lapham married Jane 
McBride, who survived him ten years, 
with three children: Mrs. William H. 
Adams, Charles B. Lapham, and Elbridge 
G. Jr. 

William Gray Lapham was born in 
Farmington, March 24, 1816. After a 
preliminary course at Canandaigua Acad- 
emy, and at the age of eighteen he entered 
upon a course of scientific studies at the 
Rensselaer Institute, Troy, and was 
among the early graduates of that now- 
renowned institution. He received the 
degree of Civil Engineer and upon gradu- 
ation was retained as an instructor for a 
year. He found active employment in the 
construction of the Auburn & Rochester 
railroad, every foot of which he personally 
surveyed. He was next made chief engi- 
neer and superintendent of the Canan- 
daigua & Elmira railroad, now the North- 
ern Central. He next was chief engi- 
neer and superintendent of the Canan- 
daigua & Niagara Falls railroad. In the 
fall of 1861 he was appointed by Dean 
Richmond, superintendent of the middle 
division of the New York Central. He 
held this position under Richmond, Keep 
and Commodore Vanderbilt. He was 
frequently called to New York for con- 
sultation with Commodore Vanderbilt. 
Superintendent Lapham died in Syracuse, 
October 25, 1873. He is survived by three 
children : S. Gurney Lapham, for forty 
years a well-known editor in Syracuse, 



and now dean of the profession in that 
city ; Mary Lapham Roberts, of New 
York, and Mrs. Charles Peterson, of 
Lockport. Mr. Lapham was married in 
1840 to Rebecca Smith, of Farmington. 



DANA, Charles Anderson, 

Journalist. 

Of this brilliant editor and writer, a 
biographer has said, "as regards the scope 
and thoroughness of his literary accom- 
plishments, he has never had an equal 
in this country within his own profes- 
sion." 

He was born at Hinsdale, New Hamp- 
shire, August 8, 1819, son of Anderson 
and Ann (Dennison) Dana, and de- 
scended from Richard Dana (1640), as 
were Chief Justice Dana and the two 
Richard Henry Danas. As a lad he 
clerked in a store in Buffalo, New 
York, until his eighteenth year, and then 
was a student at Harvard College for 
two years, an eye ailment preventing 
his remaining to conclude the course. 
After leaving college he joined in the 
Brook Farm Association, with a brilliant 
company of transcendentalists and think- 
ers — Theodore Parker, George William 
Curtis, Nathaniel Hawthorne, William 
Henry Channing. George Ripley, Mar- 
garet Fuller, and others ; among these he 
was, perhaps, the only one who had suffi- 
cient practical business judgment to prop- 
erly weigh the material questions which 
embarrassed the undertaking. It is just- 
ly to be concluded that his connection 
with the Brook Farm experiment (which 
came to an end with the destruction of 
the property by fire in 1846), was advan- 
tageous to him in its associations ; and, 
also, that these associations gave to his 
mind a certain bias with regard to social 
and economic evils and their proposed 
cure, that influenced him somewhat in his 
later journalistic career. 



293 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



It was about the time of the Brook 
Farm failure that Mr. Dana made his first 
essay in newspaper work, as a contributor 
to a social journal in Boston, "The Har- 
binger," and he later did service on Elizur 
Wright's "Chronotype," in the same city. 
Coming to New York in 1847, h^ joined 
"The Tribune" editorial staff, and was a 
principal confidant of Horace Greeley, 
and for a considerable time managing 
editor of the paper, exerting an influence 
that was plainly perceptible in increased 
circulation and advertising patronage. 
After fifteen years, in 1861, Greeley and 
Dana came to serious disagreement as 
to the course to be pursued by the paper 
with reference to the Civil War, and the 
latter, who was a deep sympathizer with 
President Lincoln and his administration, 
withdrew. He was almost immediately 
given a departmental position by Edwin 
M. Stanton, Secretary of War, and in 
1863 was formally installed as an assist- 
ant to that official. From this on, in Mr. 
Lincoln's phrase, he was known as "the 
eyes of the War Department." He visited 
the various scenes of military operations, 
and proved himself an invaluable observer 
and adviser. His rare faculty of rightly 
measuring men and estimating their limi- 
tations was signally useful in the case of 
General Grant, whom he observed most 
closely during the operations against 
Vicksburg; and it may be accepted as a 
fact that had it not been for Dana, he 
who was soon to be known as "The Great 
Commander" would have been over- 
thrown by the malign influences then 



scenes which have no recital in official 
reports. 

The war over, Dana became interested 
in a new Chicago daily, "The Republi- 
can," which was shortlived, its failure, 
however, nothing reflecting upon him. 
He then returned to New York and 
organized a company which took over 
"The Sun," which had come to have little 
standing as a journal, and was practically 
bankrupt. The first number of the paper 
under his editorial management appeared 
on January 27, 1868, and sustained Demf>- 
cratic principles, but acknowledging no 
party obligations, and maintaining an 
aggressive independence. It soon attained 
a commanding place ; it was held in ad- 
miration for its industry in news gather- 
ing, the fairness with which it presented 
that news, and constantly held the atten- 
tion of the reading public for its occas- 
ional eccentricities. After supporting 
General Grant for the Presidency, it con- 
demned certain features of his adminis- 
tration with feeling amounting to bitter- 
ness. In 1876 it supported Samuel J. 
Tilden, and, after Rutherford B. Hayes 
was declared President, during his entire 
Presidency it referred to him almost 
daily as "The Fraud President," with a 
portrait stamped broad on the forehead, 
"Fraud." In 1880 "The Sun" withheld its 
support from General Winfield S. Han- 
cock, the Democratic candidate. In 1884 
it studiously opposed Grover Cleveland, 
and gave effusive support to Benjamin F. 
Butler, the candidate of the allied but in- 
significant Greenback and Anti-Monopo- 



seeking to undermine him. After witness- list parties. When Cleveland was renomi- 

ing the fall of Vicksburg, Dana continued nated in 1888, Dana supported the ticket, 

with the armies until the end of the war, at the same time constantly denouncing 

both in the east and in the west, journey- the tariff policies which were a principal 

ing with the troops on horseback, and feature of the party platform. In 1892 

making daily reports to his chief and to he opposed Cleveland, but supported the 

President Lincoln. His "Recollections of general party ticket. In 1896 he seconded 

the Civil War," published in 1890, will Thomas H. Piatt's efforts to defeat the 

ever be of value to the historian for inner nomination of William McKinley, but 

294 




CHARLES OCONOR 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



gave his support to that candidate as 
against William J. Bryan, the Democratic 
nominee, who stood on a free-silver plat- 
form of his own dictation. It may not 
be too much to say that no one man was 
more responsible for the Spanish-Amer- 
ican War than was Dana. No paper other 
than "The Sun," under his management, 
so ceaselessly and urgently advocated the 
independence of Cuba, the acquisition of 
the Sandwich Islands, the construction of 
the Nicaragua canal, and the establish- 
ment and maintenance of a great Ameri- 
can navy. It may also be said that he 
was the last of the old-school editors 
whose newspaper was a constant reflec- 
tion of his own intense personality. .'\s 
was said by a biographer at the time of 
his death, "whatever was in him was 
spread over the columns of 'The Sun ;' if 
he had a hatred, it was there ; if he saw a 
phase of humor, it was there ; his scorn, 
his ambition, his glowing appreciation, 
all were there." 

Dana remained in control of "The 
Sun" until his death, and was succeeded 
by his son Paul. In addition to his 
"Reminiscences of the Civil War," pre- 
viously mentioned, he wrote "The Black 
Ant," a collection of stories translated 
from the German (1849) ; "The House- 
hold Book of Poetry" (compilation, 1857, 
and revised and expanded in 1884) ; "The 
Art of Newspaper Making" (1895); 
"Lincoln and His Cabinet" (1896) ; "East- 
ern Journeys" (189S). He planned and 
edited in collaboration with George Rip- 
ley, "The New American Cyclopaedia" 
(sixteen volumes, 1855-63), and which 
they revised and republished as "The 
American Cyclopaedia" (1873-76). His 
"Life of Ulysses S. Grant," in collabora- 
tion with General James H. Wilson, 
appeared in 1868; and with Rossiter John- 
son he edited "Fifty Perfect Poems," 
(1883). He maintained a keen interest 
in every question of the day, and was an 



authority on many subjects. He was a 
collector of rare books ; and his collection 
of oriental ceramics was, with the single 
exception of the Walters collection in 
Baltimore, the largest and most interest- 
ing extant, and its distribution at auction 
after his death brought together the 
prominent art collectors of the world. He 
was a frequent after diimer speaker, and 
occasionally lectured before college stu- 
dents, usually on journalism. He was a 
member of the New England Society of 
New York City, and of the Society of the 
Sons of the American Revolution. He 
received the honorary degree of Master 
of Arts from Harvard University in 1861, 
and that of Doctor of Laws from the 
University of Notre Dame (Indiana) in 
1889. 

Mr. Dana was married, in 1846, to 
Eunice Macdaniel, of New York City. 
He died at his summer home, near Glen 
Cove, Long Island, October 17, 1897. 



O'CONOR, Charles, 

Ziaviryer and Orator. 

Charles O'Conor is undoubtedly to be 
numbered among the greatest exponents 
of the law that the country has produced. 
Few advocates have shown themselves 
able to handle logic with greater skill. 
He had all the wit and readiness at re- 
partee that characterize the race from 
which he sprang. He was inclined at times 
to be caustic in his sallies, as many an 
opponent who has felt their sting will 
aver. His oratory, though not ornate, 
possessed that high order of genius which 
can persuade even against the will ; 
and it was further distinguished by its 
power to influence almost equally the 
illiterate and the learned. In an able 
article on "The New York Bar," written 
many years ago for the "National Quar- 
terly Review." by the late Mr. Sears, for 
man}- years the editor of that publication. 



295 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



a compliment is paid to Mr. O'Conor, 
which is best given in the learned writer's 
words: "It has been our privilege to be 
present at the pleadings of some of the 
most eminent advocates and jurists of 
Europe, as well as America ; many a time 
have we heard Lord Denman and Sir 
Edward Sugden, as well as Napier, 
O'Connel, Whiteside, Shiel and O'Hagan 
— men who may be said to represent 
every style of forensic eloquence and 
forensic skill ; and we do not hesitate to 
say that there is not one of the courts in 
which we have heard them plead, or 
speak, from the Record Court and 
Queen's Bench to the bar of the House 
of Lords, in which the subject of this 
paper would not be considered an advo- 
cate of the first rank." 

Charles O'Conor was born in New York 
City, January 22, 1804, son of Thomas 
O'Connor (17701855), a native of County 
Roscommon, Ireland, who came to the 
United States in 1801, married a daughter 
of Hugh O'Conor, who was not related 
to him, and became associated with Wil- 
liam Kernan in establishing a settlement 
in Steuben county. New York, on which 
he resided, 1805-06; and was editor, pub- 
lisher and author in New York City, 1812- 

55- 

Charles O'Conor received a classical 
education under direction of his father, 
and was a student at law from 1820 to 
1824, being admitted to the bar in the lat- 
ter year, although not yet of age. He 
changed the spelling of his name to its 
form as given above, to conform to an- 
cient usage. He became one of the most 
prominent lawyers in the United States, 
and his practice included cases involving 
for the time in which he lived, the dis- 
posal of vast sums of money. In 1848 
he became a member of the Dirctory of 
the Friends of Ireland, and presided 
at several of their meetings. He was the 
Democratic candidate for Lieutenant- 



Governor of New York in 1848, and at 
the election received 3,000 more votes 
than the other candidates on the ticket, 
but failed of election. He was counsel 
for Mrs. Forrest in her celebrated suit for 
divorce, brought against Edwin Forrest, 
the actor, and, in token of his service in 
securing the divorce, the friends of Mrs. 
Forrest presented him with a silver vase, 
as did also his fellow members of the bar. 
He was counsel in the Parish will case 
in 1862, and in the Jumel suit in 1871, 
and was United States District Attorney 
for New York under President Pierce, 

1853-54- 

A States-rights Democrat, he held to 
a literal interpretation of the Constitution 
as giving no power to the general govern- 
ment to coerce a State, at the beginning of 
the Civil War. He defended JefTerson 
Davis as his senior counsel when he was 
tried for treason, and when the result of 
the trial enabled the court to accept bail, 
he went on the bail bond, with Gerrit 
Smith, Horace Greeley, Horace F. Clark 
and Augustus Schell. He was elected 
president of the Law Institute of New 
York City in 1869, and in his will be- 
queathed to the Institute the two vases 
presented to him in commemoration of 
his defence of Mrs. Forrest. He was one 
of the chief prosecutors of William M. 
Tweed in 1871, and was commissioned 
by Governor HofTman, with William M. 
Evarts, James Emott and Wheeler H. 
Peckham, a memfcer of a bureau of munici- 
]5al correction to recover the money taken. 
The Court of Appeals in 1875 decreed 
that the county and not the State of New 
York should have brought suit, and 
Mr. O'Conor at once drafted the Civil 
Remedies act, which passed the Legisla- 
ture, but the slow progress made dis- 
couraged him and called forth his book, 
"Peculation Triumphant." He was nomi- 
nated by the straight Democratic Na- 
tional Convention that met at Louisville, 



296 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Kentucky, September 3, 1872, as candidate 
for President of the United States, with 
John Quincy Adams, of Massachusetts, 
for Vice-President ; and in the general 
election in November the ticket received 
29,408 popular votes, but secured no 
elector. In the contest for electors be- 
tween Samuel J. Tilden and Rutherford 
B. Hayes in 1877, each claiming a ma- 
jority, Mr. O'Conor appeared before the 
Electoral Commission for Mr. Tilden, 
and always claimed that his client was 
cheated out of the election by fraud in 
the returns of Louisiana and F"]orida. He 
removed to Nantucket, Massachusetts, in 
188 1, and retired from public life. He re- 
ceived the honorary degree of LL. D. 
from Union College in 1865, and from 
Columbia in 1872. He was the author 
of: "Peculation Triumphant, being th" 
Record of a Five Years' Campaign 
against Official Malverism, A. D. 1871-75" 

(1875)- 

Mr. O'Conor married, in 1854, 
Cornelia (Livingston) McCracken 
died in Nantucket, Massachusetts, 
12, 1884. 



Mrs. 

He 

May 



HOE, Richard March, 

Printing Press Manufacturer, Inventor. 

Richard March Hoe was born in New 
York City, New York, September 12, 
1812, son of Robert Hoe, who was born 
October 29, 1784, came from Hoes, Not- 
tingham, Leicestershire, England, in 1803, 
settled in New York, and engaged in the 
manufacture of printing presses, with 
Peter and Mathew Smith, and afterward 
manufactured the Hoe press. He died in 
Westchester county. New York, January 
4. 1833. 

Richard M. Hoe was given a common 
school education, and in 1827 became an 
apprentice in his father's workshop, as 
did his brother Robert in 1830, and an- 
other brother, Peter Smith, in 1833. Upon 



the death of his father, in 1833, Richard 
M. Hoe became senior member of the 
firm. He constantly improved the print- 
ing presses manufactured by his house, 
introducing the fixed cylinder on which 
the electrotype plates were placed, with 
impression-cylinders travelling around it, 
which evolved into the revolving type- 
cylinder, or rotary press, gradually in- 
creasing the number of cylinders from 
two to four, six, eight and ten. He then 
made a press that would print upon both 
sides of a sheet or web of paper, the roll 
being passed through the press at the rate 
of eight hundred feet a minute, and the 
completed newspaper cut, pasted, folded, 
and ready for delivery, in a single opera- 
tion of the one machine. He combined 
with the manufacture of printing presses 
that of steel circular saws, and patented 
in the United States and Europe a process 
for the rapid and automatic grinding of 
saws. As their factory increased in the 
number of workmen, Richard's son Rob- 
ert became interested in the business. 
They introduced an apprentice's school 
for the free instruction of two hundred 
pupils. His brother Robert, born in New 
York, July 19, 1815. died in Tarrytown, 
New York, September 13, 1884. Richard 
March Hoe died in Florence, Italy, June 
7, 1886. 



HOFFMAN, John Thompson. 

Lauryer, Mayor, Governor. 

John Thompson Hoffman was born at 
Sing Sing, New York, January 10, 1828. 
His grandfather, Philip Livingston Hoff- 
man, a resident of Columbia county, was 
educated for the bar. He married Helena 
Kassam, and his son, Adrian Kassam 
Hoffman, was the father of John T. Hoff- 
man. Later the family removed to Mont- 
gomery county, and Adrian K. Hoffman 
studied medicine and took his degree. He 
married the daughter of Dr. John Thomp- 



297 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



son, of Saratoga county, and removed to 
Westchester county, where he began the 
practice of his profession. 

John Thompson Hoffman received his 
early education under the Rev. Dr. Prime, 
afterward editor of the "New York 
Observer." In 1843, when fifteen years 
of age, young Hoffman entered the junior 
class of Union College, Schenectady, New 
York, the revered Dr. Eliphalet Nott be- 
ing at that time president of the institu- 
tion. He was graduated with all the 
honors in 1846, and his oration on that 
occasion is said to have been specially 
noteworthy, his subject being "Sectional 
Prejudices," a matter with which he was 
afterward to become more completely in- 
formed. From the time he was a boy, 
young HofTman adopted the cause of 
Democracy, and to the principles of that 
party he remained ever steadfast. After 
leaving college he began to study law 
with General Aaron Ward and Judge 
Albert Lockwood, at Sing Sing. He be- 
gan his political career before he was 
twenty-one years of age. In 1848 he was 
made a member of the State Central Com- 
mittee by the convention of the "Hard- 
shell Democracy." It was at this election 
that General Taylor carried the State by 
a plurality of 100,000, and Hamilton Fish 
was elected Governor, both on the Whig 
ticket, in face of the fact that the aggre- 
gate Democratic vote exceeded that of 
the Whigs. Although not then a voter, 
Mr. Hoffman took the stump, and did 
good service as a speaker for Lewis Cass. 
On January 10, 1849, this being his twen- 
ty-first birthday, Mr. Hoffman was admit- 
ted to the bar. and in the autumn of that 
year he removed to New York and formed 
a law partnership with the late Samuel 
M. Woodruff and Judge William M. 
Leonard, under the firm name of Wood- 
ruff, Leonard & Hoffman. For ten years 
thereafter, Mr. Hoffman devoted himself 
strictly to the practice of his profession, 



and with marked success. In 1859 his 
name was put forward by some of the 
most prominent citizens of New York for 
the position of United States District At- 
torney, and the only objection made to 
him by President Buchanan was on ac- 
count of his youth. In i860 Mr. Hoffman 
was nominated and elected recorder of 
the city of New York, being the youngest 
man who ever filled the place. During 
his first official term, Mr. Hoffman laid 
the foundation for the splendid reputa- 
tion which afterward became his. It fell 
to his lot to try and sentence many of 
those engaged in the famous riots of July, 
1S63. So highly was Recorder Hoffman 
respected, on account of his conduct in 
his office, that the Republican Judiciary 
Convention, on October 12, 1863, named 
him for reelection. He was endorsed by 
both Tammany and Mozart halls, while 
the press, regardless of party affiliations, 
sustained him, and he was again elected 
recorder by an almost unanimous vote, 
receiving 60,000 out of 64,000 votes polled 
for that office, a record unparalleled in the 
history of the city up to that time. On 
November 21, 1865, he was nominated 
for the office of mayor of the city of New 
York by the Tammany Hall Democratic 
Convention. There were three candidates 
in the field besides Judge Hoffman — Mar- 
shall O. Roberts, for the Republicans; 
John Hecker, nominated by the Citizen's 
Association ; and C. Godfrey Gunther, re- 
nominated by one wing of the Democratic 
party. Judge Hoffman was elected, re- 
ceiving about twelve hundred votes over 
the next highest candidate, Mr. Roberts 
While serving his first term as mayor, 
Mr. Hoffman was nominated by the 
Democratic party for the Governorship, 
but was defeated by Reuben E. F'enton. 
In 1867 he was renominated for the may- 
oralty by Tammany Hall, and received 
over 21,000 majority over both his com- 
petitors. While serving his second term 



298 




AMASA J. PARKER 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



as mayor, he was again nominated for 
Governor of the State, and was elected 
by a handsome majority, and his name 
was mentioned in the National Demo- 
cratic Convention in connection with the 
Vice-Presidency. He resigned the may- 
oralty in 1868 to assume the highest ex- 
ecutive chair in the State. In 1870 he 
was reelected to the Governorship; and 
thus in every office which he held he re- 
ceived the endorsement of the people for 
a second term. It was during Governor 
HofTman's incumbency of the chair of 
State that the great tidal wave of popular 
indignation and opposition to the Tam- 
many Democracy occurred, on account of 
the outrages of the "Tweed Ring." Gov- 
ernor Hoffman was unfortunate in having 
his name connected with this remarkable 
oligarchy, but only because he was nomi- 
nated and supported by the Tweed 
Democracy. No charge that he had ever 
given assistance or service to the ring 
was ever proven against him. However, 
from that time forward he refrained from 
any active participation in political aflairs, 
maintaining a dignified privacy, and de- 
voting himself to his extensive law prac- 
tice. 

In person. Governor Hoffman was 
singularly pleasing. His manners were 
courteous, gentle and unaffected ; and in 
conversation he exhibited the wellbred 
appearance and simplicity of an American 
gentleman. He traveled much abroad, 
and was as familiar with London and 
Paris as with New York. His favorite 
place of sojourn, however, was his home 
on the Hudson. His domestic life, from 
which neither politics nor the cares of 
office ever estranged him, was peculiarly 
happy. As a public speaker, Governor 
Hoffman always made a deep impression 
through his evident sincerity and by the 
clearness of his language and logic. He 
spoke as one who believed every word he 

299 



was saying, and this induced his hearers 
to believe in him. 

In 1854, John T. Hoffman married the 
daughter of Henry Starkweather, of New 
York City. Ex-Governor Hoffman died 
at Wiesbaden, Germany, March 24, 1888. 



PARKER, Amasa J., 

Politician, Legislator, Jurist. 

Amasa Junius Parker, of Puritan 
stock and breeding, his family notable 
for character and patriotism in colonial 
Connecticut, with honorable service in 
the Indian and Revolutionary wars, him- 
self eminent as politician, legislator and 
jurist in New York, was born in Sharon, 
Litchfield county, June 2, 1807, his father 
being a scholarly Congregational minis- 
ter there for many years. His mother 
was a daughter of Thomas Fenn, of 
Watertown, who represented that town 
in the Connecticut Legislature for more 
than thirty years. The Rev. Daniel re- 
moved with his family to Delaware 
county in this State in 1816, when Amasa 
was nine years old. The boy, precocious 
in intellect and studious in habit mastered 
a full collegiate curriculum, mainly under 
the instruction of his father, before he was 
sixteen and, two years later, upon a rigid 
examination, at Union College, was, 
without any previous attendance, gradu- 
ated from that institution in 18(25 — ^ ^^'^^ 
rarely performed, although Dr. Nott had 
done it some thirty years before at 
Rrown : possibly the president may have 
had a "fellow feeling" with the young 
scholar. 

His scholarship had already impressed 
itself upon the governing bodies of sev- 
eral schools of secondary education and, 
in June, 1823, when he had just begun 
his seventeenth year, although appearing 
older, he was invited to the principalship 
of the Hudson Academv and assumed 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



charge thereof, the ensuing fall. He re- 
mained four years, and was notably suc- 
cessful both as a teacher and executive, 
the academy advancing its courses, re- 
ceiving a large access of students and 
reaching the height of its prosperity dur- 
ing his administration. During his last 
year at the academy, he began the study 
of the law, pursuing it intermittently in 
the office of the Hon. John W. Edmunds. 
On resigning as principal, he renewed his 
legal education in earnest, with his uncle, 
Amasa Parker, a prominent lawyer in 
Delhi, was duly admitted to the bar in 
October, 1828, and formed a partnership 
with his uncle, the firm being styled, A. & 
A. J. Parker. This happy introduction to 
the profession was soon followed by its 
honors and emoluments. He was at once 
recognized as a rising young lawyer, his 
circuit extending throughout the south- 
ern tier; and it is said that the firm had 
a more extensive and varied practice than 
that of any country office in the State, 
Amasa J. insisting that his success was 
due rather to his industry and prompt- 
ness in keeping his engagements than to 
any pronounced talents in oratory or to 
the niceties of the law — a modest esti- 
mate, in which the community did not 
share, for his merits both in trial and 
argument displayed themselves brilliant- 
ly. In the line of his profession he be- 
came surrogate, April 3, 1832, and district 
attorney December 10, 1833, and served 
in each the respective terms by law pro- 
vided. 

Judge Parker identified himself with 
the Democratic party upon attaining his 
majority and was consistently a member 
thereof, in sunshine and in storm through- 
out his career. He was elected to the 
Assembly as a Democrat, but without 
opposition. In that body he made an 
elaborate report urging the establishment 
of a State hospital for the insane which 
although not confirmed at that session 



led to its being built a few years later 
and to the appointment of Judge Parker 
as one of the trustees of the Hudson 
River State Hospital, by Governor Fen- 
ton, a trust which he held until 1881, 
when he resigned and Governor Cornell 
appointed his son. General Amasa J. 
Parker Jr. in his place. In 1835, Judge 
Parker was chosen a Regent of the Uni- 
versity, being the youngest man ever 
designated for that honorable educational 
trust, from which he resigned when he 
went upon the bench in 1844. In No- 
vember, 1836, he was elected, without 
opposition, to the Twenty-fifth Congress 
from the twentieth district, comprising 
the counties of Delaware and Broome. 
Although a representative for but a single 
term, his service was marked by a helpful 
fidelity to the administration of Van 
P)uren in the crucial period of disordered 
finances through which it passed, espe- 
cially by his vigorous advocacy of the 
Sub-Treasury bill, by illuminating 
speeches on the Mississippi election case, 
the Public Lands, the Cilley-Graves duel 
and other significant subjects and by the 
esteem and confidence of his colleagues. 
At the close of his term, he returned to 
the practice of his profession. In the 
autumn of 1839, he was nominated for 
the State Senate, but was defeated by a 
merely nominal majority in the tidal wave 
of Whig victory, which swept over the 
State. 

It was not, however, as a politician, 
but as a jurist, that he gained enduring 
laurels. He was appointed by Governor 
Rouck Judge of the Third Circuit, March 
6, 1844, and removed to Albany where he 
resided subsequently. He held that oflFice 
until the spring of 1847, when it was ter- 
minated by the adoption of the Consti- 
tution of 1846. He was then elected from 
the Third Judicial District a justice of 
the Supreme Court for the term of eight 
years. His tenure of the bench was of a 



300 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



memorable, even monumental, character. 
He had hardly taken his seat when he 
was called to preside in the Anti-Rent 
trials. Two of the conspirators were con- 
victed of murder ; four were found guilty of 
felony and sentenced to State's prison for 
life ; and thirteen were committed there- 
to for lesser terms. Great credit was 
awarded to Judge Parker for his upright 
discharge of the delicate and difficult 
duties thus devolved upon him, amid 
much of popular passion. As a matter 
of history it is to be recorded that the 
capital sentences were commuted by 
Governor Wright to imprisonment for 
life and that Governor Young pardoned 
all in confinement. In 1S46, the degree of 
Doctor of Laws was conferred on Judge 
Parker by Geneva (Hobart) College. As 
circuit judge he presided in many import- 
ant cases, illustrating his learning, im- 
partiality and integrity to both law and 
equity. He was nominated in 1855 by the 
Democrats to succeed himself. This was 
a triangular contest, Ambrose Z. Jordan 
being named by the Republicans and 
George Gould by the American or "Know 
Nothing" party, the last named succeed- 
ing in the single spasm of victory which 
attended that well named and ill-meaning 
order with its grips and pass-words. And 
here it may be noted that all the defeats 
at the polls encountered by Judge Parker 
were occasioned by abnormal conditions, 
not reflecting upon him personally. He 
passed through each unscathed, either in 
character or popularity, running ahead of 
his ticket every time. Resuming practice 
in Albany, refusing judiciary nominations, 
when they were equivalent to elections. 

In the fall of 1856, he was the Demo- 
cratic nominee for Governor. Again, a 
triangular fight and the year of the great 
Democratic exodus to the Republican 
party, with John A. King as the Repub- 
lican and Erastus Brooks as the "Know- 
Nothing" candidate, King being elected. 



while Parker's vote was far in excess of 
the rest of his ticket. In 1858, Parker 
was again placed in the gubernatorial 
field — evidence of the abiding esteem in 
which he was held — against Edwin D. 
Morgan, with the same results — Parker 
leading his ticket by a large figure and 
Morgan being elected. In 1865, his son, 
General Parker, was admitted into part- 
nership with him, former Judge Edwin 
Countryman joining the firm, in 1876, the 
same continuing with marked celebrity 
until Judge Parker's death. In 1858, in 
conjunction with Judge Ira Harris and 
Amos Dean, Judge Parker founded the 
Albany Law School, now a department of 
Union University. It became under their 
supervision distinctly one of the most 
favorably known institutions of its kind; 
and it is not invidious to the other instruc- 
tors to say that he was the peer of either 
as a teacher and their superior in the 
afifection he inspired by his dignified, 
courteous and helpful demeanor. Hun- 
dreds of the alumni testify to this. 

In politics, as has already been indi- 
cated. Judge Parker was a Democrat 
throughout, of the conservative type, of 
the "Hunkers" when they were resolved 
into a district faction, maintaining the 
guarantees for slavery, as they interpreted 
them, and solicitous to conserve peaceful 
relations between the north and south. 
He labored earnestly to avert the Civil 
War, discerning the portents of its ap- 
proach and presided at the Democratic 
Convention at Tweddle Hall, Albany, in 
February, 1861, devising compromises to 
that end ; but, when rebellion was inau- 
gurated, declared himself for the preser- 
vation of the Union and contributed of 
his time and means to the cau.se of na- 
tionality, reserving the right to criticize 
what he deemed to be infractions of the 
constitution by the government in its 
conduct of the war. An instance of this 
is his appearance as counsel for his client 



301 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



who, in his opinion, had been arrested 
and imprisoned in violation of the seventh 
article of the amendments to the Consti- 
tution — the right of trial by jury — in 
which he was sustained, on ultimate 
appeal, by the United States Supreme 
Court. He presided over the Democratic 
State Union Convention, at Albany, Sep- 
tember 9, 1863, whose key-note was "the 
Union as it was and the Constitution as 
it is." He voted for every Democratic 
candidate for the Presidency from Mc- 
Clellan to Cleveland. 

During his long professional labors, 
Judge Parker never lost the taste acquired 
in early life for classical studies and liter- 
ary pursuits and was in the habit of 
setting apart a stated portion of his time 
for such purposes. These associated him 
with the educational interests of his com- 
munity and the State; and he served, not 
only as a Regent, but also as president 
of the board of trustees of the Albany Fe- 
male Academy and of the Albany Medical 
College, as trustee of Cornell University 
and governor of Union. He had married 
in 1834, Harriet Langdon Roberts, of 
Portsmouth, New Hampshire ; and his 
home was the center of a gracious and 
refined hospitality. He died in Albany, 
May 13, 1890. Of a large family of chil- 
dren two, Mrs. Erastus Corning Jr. and 
Mrs. John V. L. Pruyn, survived until 
recent years, and two. General Amasa J. 
Parker Jr. and Mrs. Selden E. Marvin are 
still living. 

Amasa J. Parker Jr. was born at Delhi, 
May 6, 1843; A. B. Union University, 
1863, A. M. 1866; LL. B. Albany Law 
School, 1864; LL. D. Union, 1904; admit- 
ted to the bar 1865. New York Assembly, 
1882; Senate, 1886-87, 1892-93, 1894-95; 
aide-de-camp and major third division 
National Guard, State of New York. 
1866; lieutenant-colonel, 1875; colonel 
Tenth Regiment Infantry, 1877 ; general. 



1886-91 ; president Albany Young Men's 
Association ; trustee Albany Medical Col- 
lege ; governor Union University ; trustee 
Union Trust, Company, New York; man- 
ager Hudson River State Hospital for 
Insane. Democrat, Episcopalian, member 
Kappa Alpha fraternity. 



WATTS, Robert, M. D., 

Anatomist, Prafessional Instructor, 

Dr. Robert Watts, a man of great 
capability, especially as an anatomist, 
whose instructional services in the Col- 
lege of Physicians and Surgeons, New 
York City, covered a period of twenty- 
eight years, only terminating with his 
death, was born August 31, 1812, upon 
what is now the site of St. John's Col- 
lege, Fordham, Westchester county. New 
York. He was a son of Robert Watts, 
and grandson of one of the same name 
as the father. 

His early educational training was 
mainly conducted by Mr. Cogswell, a 
well known teacher at Round Hill, 
Northampton, Massachusetts. He subse- 
quently entered Columbia (New York) 
College, from which he graduated, and 
then took up medical studies, first in the 
office of Professor Willard Parker, of the 
College of Physicians and Surgeons, New 
York, and afterward in the medical 
schools at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and 
Woodstock, Vermont. Later he was a 
student under Professor Alexander H. 
Stevens, of New York City, and in 1835 
received his medical degree from the Col- 
lege of Physicians and Surgeons, two 
years later receiving an honorary medical 
degree from the Berkshire (Massachu- 
setts) Medical College. He early evinced 
a preference for anatomical investiga- 
tions, and made such proficiency that 
while yet a student he was well qualified 
to serve as assistant to his first preceptor. 



302 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



then a professor in the Woodstock (Ver- 
mont) Medical College. He recapitulated 
or, rather, epitomized before the class, 
the lecture of the preceding day, and in 
the absence of Professor Parker continued 
the regular series. The intimate relations 
between the two, thus early formed, con- 
tinued through life as public teachers, and 
for some years as partners in practice. 
Immediately after graduation he was ap- 
pointed Professor of Anatomy in the 
Pittsfield and Woodstock Medical 
schools, so continuing until 1839, when, 
accepting a similar chair in the College 
of Physicians and Surgeons, he took up 
his residence in New York City, and was, 
at the time of his decease, the oldest 
active member of the faculty of that in- 
stitution. In 1844, in association with 
several other prominent practitioners, he 
participated in the foundation of the New 
York Pathological Society, of which he 
became president in 1856. He was also 
a fellow of the New York Academy of 
Medicine, a member of the New York 
Medical and Surgical Society, of the So- 
ciety for the Relief of Widows and Or- 
phans of Medical Men, and the New York 
Medical Journal Association. 

As a teacher. Professor Watts was 
clear and concise in the statement of his 
facts, analytical in method, and remark- 
ably rapid in delivery. His lectures upon 
hernia, which were models of simplicity 
in treatment, seldom failed to attract 
large audiences, not only of students, but 
of practitioners. The subject named, in 
which he was an acknowledged expert, 
was the theme of his inaugural address, 
and embodied the results of his studies 
and research from a very early period of 
his student life. A clear idea of his 
method may be discerned in his annota- 
tions to the American edition of the 
"Dublin Dissector," first published in 
1840, and which, without the aid of illus- 



trations or superior typography, soon 
advanced to stereotyped form — a dignity 
among books in that day. The editor, 
however, with charming self-abnegation, 
in his preface claims for his additions the 
modest term of "compilations." Many of 
the alumni of the old College of Physi- 
cians and Surgeons (among them the 
writer of this narrative), recall the ex- 
ceedingly pleasant relations which existed 
between the professor as a lecturer and 
his students, and which in after years 
were never referred to without pleasure, 
and many of them were wont to repeat 
with zest the quaint Elia-like flashes of 
wit with which his discourse abounded, 
and which were invariably announced by 
a peculiar peer over his spectacles, and a 
scarcely perceptible inclination of his 
somewhat attenuated frame. As a phy- 
sician, he was distinguished for the keen- 
ness of his observations, the patience of 
his investigations, and the general accur- 
acy of his judgment. Partly from an in- 
nate modesty, and partly from a fixed 
principle never to undertake more than 
he could thoroughly accomplish, he 
sought no public position, the only excep- 
tion of importance being that of a visiting 
physician to the Nursery and Child's 
Hospital, and which he soon resigned. 

The health of Dr. Watts, which was 
habitually delicate, became so much im- 
paired toward the close of the collegiate 
session of 1866-67, that under the advice 
of an intimate professional friend he un- 
dertook a sea voyage, sailing in the latter 
part of May of the latter year, but he 
rapidly declined, and died in Paris, 
France, September 8th following. Fu- 
neral services were held at the Proteslant 
Episcopal Church of the Ascension, in 
New York City, October 18th. His 
widow, Charlotte Izard, of South Caro- 
lina, died January 13th following. 



.303 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



THOMPSON, Smith, 

Lawyer, Jurist, Cabinet OfiBoer. 

Smith Thompson, Secretary of the 
Navy and Associate Justice of the United 
States Supreme Court, was born in Stan- 
ford, Dutchess county, New York, Janu- 
ary 17, 1768. He received an ample 
preparatory education, and entered 
Princeton College, where he was gradu- 
ated in 1788. He studied law with Chan- 
cellor Kent in Poughkeepsie, New York, 
and, while continuing his professional 
education, defrayed his expenses by 
teaching. In 1792 he was admitted to the 
bar, and for a time, practiced in Troy. 
Afterward he returned to Poughkeepsie, 
and in 1800 was elected a member of the 
State Legislature, and the following year 
was a delegate to the Constitutional Con- 
vention of the State of New York. In the 
same year he was offered the position of 
District Attorney, but declined. In 1802 
he was made Associate Justice of the 
State Supreme Court, a position which he 
continued to hold until 1814. In the 
meantime he could have had the mayor- 
alty of the city of New York, where he 
resided at the time, but this he rejected. 
In 1814 he was made Chief Justice of the 
Supreme Court of New York, and con- 
tinued to hold that office until 1818, when 
President Monroe appointed him Secre- 
tary of the Navy, and he entered upon 
that position November 9th of that year, 
succeeding Benjamin W. Crowninshield. 
of Massachusetts, who had held over. Mr. 
Thompson resigned in September, 1823, 
having been appointed a Justice of the 
United States Supreme Court, to succeed 
Judge Prockholst Livingston, and he 
continued to hold this high office until 
his death. 

Judge Thompson was a man of great 
learning, both legal and general, and his 
private life was pure and exemplary. At 
the time of his death he was the oldest 



vice-president of the American Bible So- 
ciety. He received the degree of LL. D. 
from Yale and Princeton in 1824, and from 
Harvard in 1835. He died in Pough- 
keepsie, New York, December 18, 1843. 



HOFFMAN, Michael, 

Lawyer, CongresBmam. 

Michael Hoffman, who in his day was 
one of New York's greatest lawyers, was 
born at Half Moon, Saratoga county. New 
York, October ir, 1787. His father was 
born in Germany ; his mother, a native of 
this country, was of Protestant Irish 
descent. 

After receiving a preliminary and 
academic education, he took up the study 
of medicine in 1807, and three years later 
obtained his degree; but in 181 1 he de- 
cided to adopt the law as his profession, 
and was admitted to the bar after two 
years' study. He at once commenced his 
practice at Herkimer, and soon formed 
the law partnership of Hackley & Hoff- 
man, achieving a high reputation by his 
earnest, zealous and confident advocacy of 
all the cases he conducted. About 1820 he 
removed to Waterloo, Seneca county, 
New York, where he formed a partner- 
ship with a former college mate, a Mr. 
Barton ; but in a short time he returned 
to his practice at Herkimer, and in 1823 
was appointed district attorney. Mr. 
Hofl'man held this office until 1825, when 
he took his seat in Congress, this election 
being followed by three reelections, the 
complete term of his service dating from 
December 5, 1825, to March, 1833. He 
devoted himself assiduously to the work 
assigned him ; he favored the election of 
President Jackson in 1828, and upheld 
his administration, even to the approval 
of the nullification message of T833. Dur- 
ing Mr. Hoffman's last term in Congress 
he was chairman of the committee on 
naval affairs, and was known among his 



304 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



friends as "Admiral," a title which clung 
to him through life. Mr. Hoffman's posi- 
tive utterance of opinions in debate 
brought upon him a challenge from Sen- 
ator Poindexter, of Mississippi ; but he 
sensibly declined to meet it. During a 
portion of his Congressional service he 
was also judge (the first) of Herkimer 
county. On retirement from Congress 
he was appointed a canal commissioner 
for the State of New York ; served until 
1835, and wrote several able reports. He 
was appointed by the President, in 1836, 
Register of the Land Of^ce for Saginaw, 
Michigan, and remained there until 1837, 
when he returned to Herkimer, New 
York, and represented that county in the 
State Assembly in 1841, 1842 and 1844. 
In 1845 President Polk, with whom Mr. 
HofTman was personally acquainted, ap- 
pointed him naval officer of the city of 
New York, an office he held until his 
death. In 1846 he served as delegate to 
the Constitutional Convention. He was 
a powerful and efTective debater, originat- 
ing and carrying through important finan- 
cial reforms, and a man of high and un- 
selfish character. He died in Brooklyn, 
New York, September 27, 1848. 



GERMAN, Obadiah, 

Liegislator, United States Senator. 

General Obadiah German, who aided 
in the organization of Chenango county, 
New York, and was among its first offi- 
cers, was born in 1767, in Dutchess 



ed in the same body in 1804-05, and 1807- 
og. In the latter year he was elected to 
the United States Senate as ;i Democrat 
and served the full six years term. In 
that body he strenuously opposed a decla- 
ration of war against Great Britain, but 
when hostilities ensued, he was among 
the foremost in directing the energies of 
the government to aggressive measures, 
and liberal support of the army and navy. 
Soon after the expiration of his senatorial 
term he was again elected to the Assem- 
bly, and was chosen speaker of the house. 
He subsequently held the office of Loan 
Commissioner, and in the State militia he 
attained the rank of brigadier-general. In 
his later political life he was an ardent 
Whig. He died in Norwich, New York, 
September 24, 1842. 



county. New York, and he there received 
his education, including an academical 
course. He studied law, was admitted 
to the bar, and in 1792 removed to Nor- 
wich, New York, where he resided dur- 
ing the remainder of his life. He aided 
in the organization of Chenango county 
in 1798, was one of the early judges, and 
was one of the first two delegates elected 
to the Assembly, and subsequently serv- 
N Y-Voi 1-20 305 



RENWICK, James, 

Scientist, Author. 

James Renwick, who may be regarded 
as the father of the Delaware and Hudson 
canal, was a native of England, born in 
Liverpool, May 30, 1790, son of William 
and Jane (Jeffrey) Renwick, and grand- 
son of James Renwick, of Roxburghshire, 
Scotland, a manufacturer, who in the 
summer of 1783 came to New York, and 
organized the mercantile firm of Ren- 
wick, Son & Hudswell, of which William 
Renwick was the English agent. The lat- 
ter's wife was a daughter of Rev. Andrew 
Jeffrey ; she was a famous beauty, and 
the "blue-eyed Jeanie" mentioned in 
Burns' poem. 

James Renwick graduated at Columbia 
College in 1807, standing first in his class, 
and then traveled in Europe with his life- 



long friend, Washington Irving. In No- 
vember, 1812, he was appointed instructor 
in natural philosophy in Columbia College 
during the sickness of Professor Kemp, 
and served without pay. In 1814 he 
entered the service of the United States 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



as topographical engineer, with the rank 
of major; and in 1817 he was commis- 
sioned colonel of engineers in the militia 
of New York State, the same year being 
elected a trustee of Columbia College. 
He succeeded to his father's business; 
but the failure of the English correspond- 
ents brought the business to an end, and 
he accepted appointment to the chair of 
natural experimental philosophy and 
chemistry in Columbia College in No- 
vember, 1820, serving until 1853, when 
he retired as Professor Emeritus. Dur- 
ing his term of thirty-three years at the 
college he was occasionally employed in 
outside work, which included (in 1823) 
an examination into the practicability of 
a canal between Easton, on the Delaware 
river, and the Hudson river. As a result of 
his report that such -a canal was practic- 
able, with inclined-planes in place of 
locks, the Morris canal was projected, and 
for the use of which he patented, No- 
vember 7th of the same year, an econom- 
ical form of inclined plane operated by a 
water counterpoise, the car at the upper 
end of the incline being filled with water 
until the weight was sufficient to lift the 
car carrying the boat at the lower end. For 
this invention the Franklin Institute 
awarded him (in 1826) the Franklin silver 
medal. A modification of his system 
was subsequently installed at Foxton, 
Leicestershire, England. In 1837 Profes- 
sor Renwick was employed by the United 
States government to survey and report 
upon a proposed site for a navy yard at 
Bergen Point, New Jersey. In the fol- 
lowing year President VanBuren ap- 
pointed him one of the three commis- 
sioners "to test the usefulness of inven- 
tions to improve and render safe the 
boilers of steam engines against explo- 
sions," his associates being Professor 
Silliman, of Yale, and Mr. Redfield. In 
1839 he was employed by an association 
of the Rochester millers to examine into 



the excessive use of the water of the 
Genesee river for the Erie canal, and to 
report a remedy. In 1840, in association 
with Captain A. Talcott and Major J. D. 
Graham, he was appointed a commis- 
sioner to survey the northeast boundary 
line between the L^nited States and New 
Brunswick, commonly called the "dis- 
puted territory."' The commissioners 
divided the survey into three sections, of 
which Professor Renwick took the north- 
ern. During the progress of this work he 
entered into a correspondence with his 
friend. Major General Sir Edward Sabine, 
of the British army, on the subject of a 
treaty, and this led to the sending of Lord 
Ashburton to this country and to the 
Webster-Ashburton treaty. In addition 
to his proficiency in the sciences which he 
taught, Professor Renwick was an astron- 
omer, an excellent classical scholar and 
linguist, as well as a skillful water-color 
artist. He was a member of many 
learned societies, and in 1829 the degree 
of LL. D. was conferred upon him by 
Columbia College. 

Mr. Renwick was a vigorous writer, 
and an early and frequent contributor to 
the first "New York Review." On the 
establishment of the "Whig Review," he 
became one of its most valued writers, 
also contributing to the "American 
Quarterly Review." He translated from 
the French Lallemand's "Treatise on 
Artillery" (two volumes, 1820), and 
edited, with notes, American editions of 
Parkes's "Rudiments of Chemistry" 
(1824), Lardner's "Popular Lectures on 
the Steam-Engine" (1828) ; Daniell's 
"Chemical Philosophy" (two volumes, 
1832), and Moseley's "Illustrations of 
Practical Mechanics" (1839). His own 
works include, besides official reports, 
lives of "David Rittenhouse" (1839) ; 
"Robert Fulton" (1845), and "Count 
Rumford" (1848), in Sparks' "Library of 
American Biography ;" also "Outlines of 



306 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Natural Philosophy," the earliest ex- 
tended treatise on this subject published 
in the United States (two volumes, 1822- 
23) ; "Treatise on the Steam-Engine" 
(1830), which was translated into several 
languages; "Elements of Mechanics" 
(1832); "Applications of the Science of 
Mechanics to Practical Purposes" (1840) ; 
"Life of DeWitt Clinton, with Selections 
of His Letters" (1S40) ; "Life of John 
Jay (with Henry B. Renwick) and Alex- 
ander Hamilton" (1841) ; "First Prin- 
ciples of Chemistry" (1841), and "First 
Principles of Natural Philosophy" (1842). 
Professor Renwick printed privately for 
the use of his classes "First Principles in 
Chemistry" (1838), and "Outlines of 
Geology" (1838) ; and a synopsis of his 
lectures on "Chemistry Applied to the 
Arts," taken down by one of his class, 
was also printed. 

In 1816, Professor Renwick was mar- 
ried to Margaret Anne, daughter of 
Henry Brevoort, New York City. Of 
their four children, the sons all came to 
distinction in professional life — Henry B. 
and Edward S. as civil engineers, and 
James as an architect. Professor Renwick 
died in New York City, January 12, 1862. 



TALLMADGE, Nathaniel P., 

Legislator, Territorial Governor. 

Nathaniel Pitcher Tallmadge was born 
at Chatham, Columbia county, New 
York, February 8, 1795. He was 
educated at Union College, Schenectady, 
New York, graduating in 1815, at the age 
of twenty years. He took up the study 
of law, was admitted to the bar when 
twenty-three years old, and engaged in 
practice in Poughkeepsie, New York. In 
1828 he was elected to the Assembly, and 
was subsequently elected to the State 
Senate, serving from 1830 to 1833, and in 
the latter year was elected by the Legis- 
lature to the United States Senate. Being 



reelected for a second term in the latter 
otiice, he served until June 17, 1844, when 
he resigned in order to accept appoint- 
ment from President Tyler to the Gov- 
ernorship of the Territory of Wisconsin, 
being the third to occupy that position. 
He held the office but one year, being 
superseded by another appointee. His 
gubernatorial term was marked by meas- 
ures preliminary to statehood, which was 
accomplished under another administra- 
tion. After retiring from tiie Cjovernor- 
ship, Mr. Tallmadge engaged in law 
practice, making his residence at Fon du 
Lac, Wisconsin. He became a convert to 
spiritualism, and was the author of 
several addresses upon that subject, as 
well as upon political topics, and wrote 
the introduction and appendix to C. Lin- 
ton's "Healing of the Nations" (1855). 
He was regarded as a man of great 
nobility of character, and excellent ability. 
His later years were passed at Battle 
Creek, Michigan, where he died, Novem- 
ber 2, 1864. 

His son, Grier Tallmadge, was a 
graduate of West Point, and died early 
in the Civil War period, at Fortress 
Monroe, Virginia, where he was on duty 
in the adjutant-general's department. It 
is claimed for him that he originated the 
idea carried into effect by General Benja- 
min F. Butler, of declaring the slaves of 
disloyal owners to be contraband of war, 
and subject to confiscation — whence the 
name "contraband" as applied to escaped 
and captured slaves. 



MORRIS, George Pope, 

Author, Poet. 

George Pope Morris, a smooth and 
graceful writer, wrote many of the better 
class of songs which were dear to the 
people of more than a half century ago. 

He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsyl- 
vania, October 10, 1802. His parents were 



307 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



unable to afford him many educational 
advantages, but he early developed a 
fondness for books, and made use of every 
opportunity to improve himself. He se- 
cured employment in a printing office, 
and amused himself writing sketches 
during his spare hours. 

When only fifteen years of age he re- 
moved to New York, and almost immedi- 
ately became a contributor to the New 
York "Gazette" and the New York 
"American." In 1823, with Samuel 
Woodworth, he established the "New 
York Mirror and Ladies' Literary 
Gazette." Later he associated with him- 
self Nathaniel P. Willis, Hiram Fuller 
and Theodore S. Fay, and the three con- 
tinued the magazine until 1842. In the 
year following, in association with Willis, 
he established the "New Mirror," which 
ran through three volumes. The follow- 
ing year they began the publication of a 
daily paper called the "Evening Mirror." 
In 1846, after many vicissitudes and 
changes of name, he established the 
"Home Journal," which came to number 
upon its editorial staff, at various times, 
some of the brightest names in American 
literature, and he continued the manage- 
ment of this journal, in connection with 
Willis, until a short time before his death. 
These various journals were among the 
best publications of the time, and Morris 
enjoyed a high reputation. He was a 
graceful and popular writer of both prose 
and poetry, and his songs were heard on 
every hand. In 1825 he published a 
drama entitled "Brier-cliff," founded on 
the events of the American Revolution, 
and several volumes of miscellaneous 
prose and poetry. With Willis he edited 
"The Prose and Poetry of America," and 
also a volume of "American Melodies." 
His most enduring fame rests upon his 
songs, among the most popular of which 
are: "Near the Lake Where Drooped the 



Willow," "We Were Boys Together," 
"Land, Ho!" "Long Time Ago," "Where 
Hudson's Wave," "My Mother's Bible," 
"Whip-poor-Will !" "Woodman, Spare 
that Tree." This last song was founded 
on the following incident : He was walk- 
ing with a friend in the woods in the 
neighborhood of Bloomingdale, New 
York, when his friend pointed out an old 
elm-tree, under which he played when a 
boy. While sitting under the tree a 
woodman came up with an axe, and was 
about to cut it down, when the friend 
offered to pay the woodman $10 if he 
would preserve it. A bond was drawn 
up specifying that the tree should remain 
unscathed during the lifetime of his 
friend. The song took hold of the hearts 
of the people everywhere, and was 
quoted even in the British House of 
Commons. One fine piece of his verse, 
written in 1850, had great vogue at the 
beginning of the Civil War, and was 
sung at hundreds of patriotic meetings, 
and afterwards by the campfire in the 
army — "A Song for the Union :" 

A song for the Union! — The watchword recall 

Which gave to our banner its station; 
"United we stand — divided we fall," 

Both made and preserved us a nation. 
The union of lakes — the union of lands — 

The union of states none may sever — 
The union of hearts — the union of hands — 

And the flag of the Union forever. 

The "North American Review" said of 
his verse: "The popularity of his lyrics 
is the strongest testimony of their poetic 
worth. His verses are music to the ear, 
as well as poetry to the inward sense." 
II. B. Wallace says in "Graham's Maga- 
zine" : "There is no professed writer of 
songs in his day who has conceived the 
true character of this delicate and peculiar 
creation of art with greater precision and 
justness than Morris." He died in New 
York, July 6, 1864. 



308 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



WILLIS, Nathaniel Parker, 

Journalist, Poet. 

Of this brilliant and versatile writer it 
was said by a kinsman and biographer, 
Rev. Richard S. Storrs, that "he will be 
remembered as a man eminently human, 
with almost unique endowments, devot- 
ing rare powers to insignificant purposes, 
and curiously illustrating the fine irony 
of nature, by which she often lavishes one 
of her choice productions on compara- 
tively inferior ends." 

Nathaniel Parker Willis was born in 
Portland, Maine, January 20, 1806, son 
of Nathaniel and Hannah (Parker) 
Willis. His father and grandfather were 
both journalists. During the Revolu- 
tionary War his grandfather published in 
Boston, Massachusetts, a Whig news- 
paper, called the "Independent Chron- 
icle ;" he subsequently went west, and 
edited a number of journals in different 
places, assisted by his son. who was to 
be the father of Nathaniel P. Willis. In 
1816 the "Boston Recorder," which later 
became the "Congregationalist and Bos- 
ton Recorder," was established by the 
father, who also founded the "Youth's 
Companion" in 1827. He was for twenty 
years a deacon in Park Street Church 
(Congregational). Hannah Parker, 

mother of Nathaniel P. Willis, was born 
at Holliston, Massachusetts, in 1778. For 
her young Willis cherished an unusually 
deep and devoted afTection, from her he 
inherited his emotional nature, and of 
whom he said, "My veins are teeming 
with the quicksilver spirit my mother 
gave me." There were nine of the Willis 
children, Nathaniel being the second, and 
a sister, Sarah Payson, better known as 
"Fanny Fern." gained considerable repu- 
tation as a writer of domestic and chil- 
dren's stories. 

Nathaniel P. Willis was six years old 
when the family removed to Boston. At 



a suitable age he attended the Boston 
Latin School, and fitted for college at 
Andover Academy, giving his vacation 
and other leisure time to work in his 
father's printing office. He then entered 
Yale College, from which he was gradu- 
ated in 1827. It has been said that col- 
lege life left a more enduring impress 
upon Willis than upon almost any other 
American writer. During his college 
course he contributed verses to the "Re- 
corder," the "Youth's Companion," the 
"New York Review and Athenaeum 
Magazine" (Br3-ant's new magazine), 
Goodrich's "Token," and other period- 
icals, and it was also at this time that his 
scriptural poems began to appear in the 
poet's corner in the "Boston Recorder," 
under the name of "Roy," and which 
were much admired. His literary success 
brought him into the best society in New 
Haven, and his social disposition made 
him a general favorite. Somewhat of a 
dandy, and an admirer of pretty women, 
he devoted himself largely to society life, 
and in after years found the background 
for many of his best stories in this early 
social experience. After graduation he 
returned to Boston, where he entered into 
an editorial engagement with Samuel G. 
Goodrich ("Peter Parley"), publisher of 
"The Legendary" and "The Token." two 
illustrated annuals. Goodrich had already 
published Willis's "Sketches" in 1827, and 
had said of him that "before he was 
twenty-five he was more read than any 
other poet of his time." In 1829 Willis 
began the publication of the ".American 
Monthly Magazine," which after two and 
a half years was merged into the "New 
York Mirror," a journal devoted to litera- 
ture, the fine arts and society, with Willis, 
George P. Morris, and Theodore S. Fay as 
editors. In 1831 Willis went abroad as 
foreign correspondent for the paper, 
under agreement to write weekly letters 
at ten dollars each. The result of this 



309 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



European trip was most fortunate, as it 
constantly furnished him with stimulus 
and incidents for future literary work. 
Having flattering letters of introduction, 
it was his good fortune to meet notable 
and desirable people in a familiar and 
cordial way, and he had the additional 
advantage of becoming attached to the 
embassy of William C. Rives, then United 
States Minister to the court of France. 
This gave Willis the entree to the court 
circle of whatever country he visited, and 
was of greatest service to him. He 
traveled through Europe and Asia Minor, 
and his "Pencilings by the Way," fully 
recorded in the "Mirror," were most 
favorably received in America, partly due 
to the fact that Europe was by no means 
so familiar to Americans as it is today. 
In London he was received with par- 
ticular favor, as a man of elegant manners 
and extreme fashion in dress. His de- 
scriptions of dinners, balls, soiree.-^, 
garden parties and the opera were widely 
read. In 1837 ^^ married Mary Stace, 
daughter of General William Stace, who 
was the ordnance store keeper at Wool- 
wich Arsenal, and soon after they sailed 
for America. 

While in England, Willis contributed 
to "Blackwood's" and other magazines, 
besides publishing "Melanie," and other 
brochures, both prose and verse. He was 
accused of abusing the hospitality of his 
friends in putting into his pages private 
conversations and opinions, and various 
unpleasantnesses resulted. In 1837 Willis 
and his wife took up their residence at 
"Glenmary," near Owego, New York, and 
his "Letters from Lender a Bridge," writ- 
ten at this time, are considered among the 
best of his works. Afterward he wrote 
a number of plays, which met with some 
success. In 1839 Willis made a business 
trip to England, where he met Thackeray, 
and engaged him as a contributor to the 
"Corsair." a weekly journal in which he 



was interested at that time. In 1840, on 
his return to America, he found a ready 
market for his writings, being at this 
time "beyond a doubt the most popular, 
the best paid, and in every way the most 
successful magazinist that America had 
yet seen." He held the attention of his 
readers more closely than any other 
periodical writer of his day. In 1844, 
after the death of his wife, he again 
visited England, where he did some 
traveling and a good deal of writing. In 
1846, while abroad, he married Cornelia 
Grinnell, the niece and adopted daughter 
of Joseph Grinnell, Congressman from 
New Bedford, Massachusetts. On their 
return to America they made their home 
at "Idlewild," near Cornwall-on-the-Hud- 
son. Willis still maintained his connec- 
tion with "The Mirror," which he and 
Morris had managed under various names 
for over twenty years, and which had now 
become the "Home Journal." For some 
ten years Willis was a well known and 
iavorite figure in New York. His unfor- 
tunate connection with the Forrest 
divorce suit, and his reputed admiration 
for the fair se.x, gave rise to reports that 
he was a profligate, but there was never 
proof of such an accusation. His health 
failing, he now traveled south, writing 
continually for his paper. In 1861, at the 
outbreak of the Civil War, he went to 
Washington City as its war correspond- 
ent. A large number of subscribers to 
the "Home Journal" fell off after the 
war, and Willis found himself in straight- 
ened circumstances during his later years. 
He died at "Idlewild," near Cornwall-on- 
the-Hudson, January 20, 1867, and was 
buried at Mount Auburn, near Boston, 
Massachusetts. Among his pallbearers 
were Longfellow, Lowell and Holmes. 

He edited and compiled "Scenery of 
the United States and Canada" (London, 
1840) ; "Scenery and Antiquities of Ire- 
land" (1842) ; "A Life of Jenny Lind" 



310 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



(1851) ; and "Trenton Falls" (1851). 
His bibliography includes: "Scripture 
Sketches" (1827); "Fugitive Poetry" 
(1829) ; "Melanie, and Other Poems," 
(London, 1835; New York, 1837) ; "Pen- 
cilings by the Way" (London, 1835; 
New Y'ork, 1836) ; "Inklings of Adven- 
ture" (1836) ; dramas — "Bianca Visconti 
and Tortesa, the Usurer" (1839) ; "Loit- 
erings of Travel" (1839) ; "Al Abri" 
(1839) ; "Poems" (1843) ; "Lady Jane and 
Other Poems" (1844); "Dashes at Life 
with a Free Pencil" (1845) ; "Rural Let- 
ters" (1849) ; "Life Here and There" 
(1850); "People I Have Met" (1850); 
"Hurrygraphs" (1851); "Fun Jottings" 
(1853) ; "A Health Trip to the Tropics" 
(1854); "Outdoors at Idlewild" (1854); 
"Famous Persons and Places" (1854) ; 
"The Rag Bag" (1855) ; and "Paul Fane" 
(1857). His biography appears in the 
"American Men of Letters Series," by 
Henry A. Beers, who also published se- 
lections from his prose writings, in 1855. 



JONES, Samuel, 

Father of the New York Bar. 

Of this eminent lawyer it was said by 
Dr. David Hosack, "Common consent has, 
indeed, assigned him the highest attain- 
ments in jurisprudence, and the appella- 
tion of father of the New York bar." 

He was born at Fort Hill, Long Island, 
New York, July 26, 1734, son of William 
and Phebe (Jackson) Jones, and grand- 
son of Thomas and Freelove (Townsend) 
Jones. Thomas Jones was born in Ire- 
land about 1665. of a family which was 
originally from North Wales. He fought 
in the army of King James II. at the 
battles of the Boyne (1690), and .^ghrim 
(1691), and in the siege of Limerick 
(1691). In the following year he went to 
France, participating in the revolution, 
and later in the same year emigrated to 
Long Island, where he was married to 



Freelove, daughter of Thomas Townsend, 
acquired a large tract of land, and became 
ranger-general of Long Island, then 
known as Nassau. He was also active 
in local military afifairs, becoming a major 
of the Queens county regiment. His 
death occurred at Fort Neck, Queens 
county. Long Island, December 13, 1713. 
One of his sons, David, born 1699, died 
1775, was a judge of the Supreme Court 
of New York City, 1758-73, and a member 
of the Colonial Assembly, 1737-58, serv- 
ing for thirteen years as its speaker. 

Samuel Jones spent the early years of 
his life as a sailor, making several voy- 
ages to Europe. He then studied law 
under William Smith, afterward Chief 
Justice and an historian of New York. 
Having been admitted to the bar, he built 
up a lucrative practice, and his office was 
much sought by law students. He did 
not imbibe a,ny of the political views of 
his law preceptor (Smith, who went to 
Canada just before the Revolution), but 
served on the pre-Revolutionary copimit- 
tee of one hundred, was a delegate to the 
Continental Congress in 1786, and be- 
came an ardent Federalist. He was re- 
peatedly elected to the State Assembly, 
and was an active member of the con- 
vention at Poughkeepsie which ratified 
the constitution of the United States in 
1788, most of the amendments suggested 
by the convention being accredited to his 
pen. In 1789 he bore the principal part 
in the revision of the statutes of 
New York, being assisted by Richard 
Varick ; and in that year was appointed 
Recorder of New York City, holding the 
office until 1797, when he was succeeded 
by Chancellor Kent, who subsequently 
wrote : "No one surpassed him in clear- 
ness of intellect and in moderation and 
extreme simplicity of character; no one 
equalled him in his accurate knowledge 
of the technical rules and doctrines of real 
property, and his familiarity with the 



311 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



skillful and elaborate, but now obsolete 
and mysterious, black-letter learning of 
the common law." In 1796, at the re- 
quest of John Jay, he drafted the law 
creating the office of comptroller of the 
State of New York, and he himself was 
the first incumbent, 1796-99, in the latter 
year retiring to his country home at West 
Neck, Long Island. Besides the "Laws 
of the State of New York," a work in two 
volumes, written in collaboration with 
Richard Varick (1789), he contributed 
valuable papers on the history of New 
York to the collections of the New York 
Historical Society. 

He married (first) Ellen, daughter of 
Cornelius Turk, who died soon after her 
marriage; married (second) Cornelia, 
daughter of Elbert Herring, of New York. 
Samuel Jones died at West Neck, Long 
Island, November 21, 1819. 

He left five sons — William, Samuel, 
Elbert Herring, Thomas and David. The 
first named resided at Cold Springs, was 
for several terms a member of the Assem- 
bly, and held the rank of major in the 
local militia. He had a son, Samuel Wil- 
liam, who studied law in the office of his 
uncle Samuel, and settled in Schenectady, 
of which city he was mayor for many 
years before his death, in 1855. Samuel 
Jones' second son, named after him, fully 
maintained the family honors in the legal 
profession in New York. He was born 
May 26, 1769, and after he was gradu- 
ated at Columbia College entered the law 
office of his father, where he had as a 
fellow student DeWitt Clinton. As soon 
as he was admitted to practice he threw 
himself into the political arena, and this, 
coupled with his own brilliant attain- 
ments as a lawyer, soon won for him a 
recognized place among the leaders of the 
local bar. In 1812-13-14 he was a member 
of the Assembly, and in 1823 was ap- 
pointed to the office once so worthily 
held by his father, that of Recorder of 



New York City. In 1826 he was made 
Chancellor of the State, and two years 
later became Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court of New York City, retaining that 
dignified office until 1847, when he 
occupied a scat in the State Supreme 
Court. In 1S49 he retired from the bench 
and resumed practice at the bar, and so 
continued until within a few weeks of his 
death at Cold Spring, August 9, 1853, 
in the eighty-fourth year of his age. 

Elbert Herring Jones, son of Samuel 
(i) Jones, was a State Senator, and a 
delegate to the State Constitutional Con- 
vention of 1821. David Jones, youngest 
son of Samuel ( i ) Jones, after he gradu- 
ated at Columbia College, entered the 
legal profession. For several years he 
was secretary to Governor Jay, and for 
some half a century was one of the 
most conspicuous and influential members 
of the New York bar. He was for 
the greater part of his professional 
life one of the trustees and the legal 
adviser of Columbia College, and took the 
deepest interest in the progress of that 
seat of learning. Like most of his family, 
he was a devoted adherent of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal church, and was particu- 
larly active in furthering the development 
of its General Theological Seminary. He 
never cared for holding elective office, 
and although often solicited to enter the 
public service he declined, except in one 
instance when, more on account of family 
sentiment than anything else, he accepted 
the judgeship of Queens county. A 
capital sketch of his career was written 
( 1849) by his son, William Alfred Jones, 
who was born at New York, June 26, 
1817. Although educated for the bar, 
William A. Jones never entered into prac- 
tice and devoted his life to literature 
From 185 1 until 1867 he was librarian of 
Columbia College, and soon after retiring 
from that position he removed to Nor- 



31- 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



wich, Connecticut. He was the author 
of "Literary Studies," two volumes 
(1847), "Essays on Books and Authors" 
(1849), "Characters and Criticisms," two 
volumes (1857), and several other works. 



HENRY, Joseph, 

Scientist, Pioneer in Electrical Science. 

This distinguished scientist, whose 
labors anticipated and made possible the 
electric telegraph, was born in Albany, 
New York, December 17, 1797, or 1799, 
the uncertainty of the year being caused 
by the illegibility of the record in the 
family Bible. He was of Scotch ancestry, 
his grandparents having emigrated about 
the year 1775, and his father died during 
Joseph's early boyhood. His mother, a 
strict Presbyterian, was an intelligent, 
high-minded woman with a strongly de- 
fined character. 

Having divided his time for five years 
between his studies in the district school 
and attending to ihe duties of clerk in a 
country store at Galway, near Albany, 
young Henry, at the age of fifteen, was 
apprenticed to a silversmith in the last 
named city. In his youth he displayed a 
fondness for the histrionic art, and ser- 
iously contemplated the adoption of the 
stage as a profession, but after reading 
Dr. Gregory's lectures on experimental 
philosophy, astronomy and chemistry, he 
was thenceforward attracted to the study 
of the sciences, and obtained evening in- 
struction from the teachers at the Albany 
Academy. He subsequently acquired by 
teaching school the means necessary to 
defray the expenses of a regular course at 
the above named institution, and at its 
completion he was recommended by Dr. 
Theodoric R. Beck as private tutor to the 
children of General Stephen Van Rens- 
selaer, the patroon, his duties as such re- 
quiring his attendance upon his pupils 



three hours a day. He also gained much 
valuable knowledge as assistant to Dr. 
Beck in the latter's chemical experiments, 
at the same time studying anatomy and 
physiology, and in 1825 he was engaged 
in laying out a public road from the Hud- 
son river to Lake Erie. In the following 
year he became Professor of Mathematics 
at tlie Albany Academy, where he was 
given ample opportunity for investigat- 
ing, by a long series of experiments, the 
nature, power and possibilities of elec- 
tricity, and his discoveries in that branch 
of science, which were both numerous 
and important, included the "intensity" 
magnet, which practically made possible 
the construction of the electric telegraph. 
His claim to priority over Professor 
Morse, though questioned by the latter, 
has never been confuted, and its validity 
was not only, however, proven by a paper 
published in Silliman's "American Jour- 
nal of Science" in 1831, in which he sug- 
gests the use of his discovery for the 
transmission of sound, but was afterwards 
sustained by Dr. Gale, who assisted in 
developing the Morse instrument. Pro- 
fessor Henry was also the discoverer of 
the secondary current, and was the first 
to obtain an electrical shock by purely 
magnetic induction. 

Mr. Henry went to Princeton as Pro- 
fessor of Natural Philosophy in 1832, and 
also filled the chair of Chemistry and 
Mineralogy during Professor Torrey's 
absence in Europe, and afterward lec- 
tured on astronomy and architecture. In 
December, 1846, he removed to Washing- 
ton City, having previously been elected 
first secretary and director of the Smith- 
sonian Institution, and the development 
and welfare of that scientific establish- 
ment occupied his principal attention for 
the remainder of his life. He was for 
many years the scientific adviser to the 
various government departments, and 



31.3 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



rendered valuable services to the War 
and Navy Departments during the Civil 
War, especially to the lighthouse service, 
being one of the original members of the 
Lighthouse Board, which was established 
in 1852, and its chairman from 1871 until 
his death. He was at one time called to 
the chair of Natural Philosophy at the 
University of Pennsylvania, at a much 
larger salary than that paid him by the 
government, but he was not susceptible 
to pecuniary inducements, and he even 
declined the offer of the presidency of 
Princeton College, which was tendered 
him in 1853 and in 1867. Professor Simon 
Newcomb says of him: "He never en- 
gaged in an investigation or an enter- 
prise that was to put a dollar into his own 
pockets, but aimed only at the general 
good of the world." 

He received the degree of Doctor of 
Laws from Union College in 1829, and 
from Harvard in 1851. In 1849 he was 
elected president of the American Asso- 
ciation for the Advancement of Science, 
was one of the original members of the 
National Academy of Science, succeed- 
ing Alexander D. Bache as its president 
in 1868; and belonged to other scientific 
societies both in the United States and 
abroad. He edited the annual volumes of 
the "Smithsonian Reports" from 1846 to 
1877: wrote many papers and contributed 
numerous articles to the scientific jour- 
nals and the American and other cyclo- 
paedias ; was the author of a series of 
papers on meteorology and its connec- 
tion with agriculture, contributed to the 
"Agricultural Reports," 1855-59; and of 
a work entitled "Syllabus of Lectures on 
Physics." In 1886 two volumes of his 
scientific writings were published by the 
Smithsonian Institution, and a memorial 
of his life and services was published by 
order of Congress in 1880. He died in 
Washington City, May 13, 1878. 



FLINT, Austin, M. D., 

Professional Instrutor and Author. 

Austin Mint, who contributed largely 
to the medical literature of the country, 
many of his first papers appearing in the 
" Buffalo Medical Journal," was born at 
Petersham, Massachusetts, October 20, 
1812, son of Joseph Henshaw Flint, one 
of the best known physicians and sur- 
geons of the Connecticut Valley, grand- 
son of Austin Flint, of Leicester, who 
was a surgeon in the American Revolu- 
tion, and a great-grandson of Edward 
Flint, who was a noted practitioner at 
Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. 

Austin Flint was a student at Amherst 
and Harvard, and later matriculated at 
the Harvard Medical School, from which 
he was graduated with the degree of Doc- 
tor of Medicine in 1833. The first three 
years after his graduation, he practiced 
his profession at Northampton and in 
Boston, and then removed to Buffalo, 
New York, where he remained until 1844, 
in which year he accepted the Professor- 
ship of the Theory and Practice of Medi- 
cine at the recently established Rush 
Medical College, Chicago, where he only 
remained one year, then returned to 
Buffalo and there established the "Buffalo 
Medical Journal," of which he was editor 
for the subsequent ten years. In 1847 Dr. 
Flint with Drs. James P. White and Frank 
H. Hamilton, founded the Buffalo Medical 
College, now the Medical Department of 
the University of Buffalo, and he was 
made Professor of the Theory and Prac- 
tice of Medicine and of Clinical Medicine, 
and was the leading teacher up to the 
time of his resignation in 1852. The fol- 
lowing four years he served as Professor 
of Pathology and Clinical Medicine in a 
strong faculty at Louisville, Kentucky, 
after which he again returned to Buffalo, 
accepting there the chair of Pathology 



.V4 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and Clinical Medicine. During the win- 
ters of 185S-61 he filled the I'rofessorship 
of Clinical Medicine at the New Orleans 
(Louisiana) Medical School, and was at- 
tending physician at the Charity Hos- 
pital. Dr. Flint removed to New York 
City in 1859, and accepted the dual 
position of Professor of the Theory and 
Practice of Medicine and Visiting Phy- 
sician at Bellevue Medical College and 
Hospital, and Professor of Pathology and 
Practical Medicine at the Long Island 
College and Hospital, but resigned from 
the latter position in 1868. 

He was a voluminous writer on many 
subjects, and many of his articles were 
the accepted text-books upon the prin- 
ciples and practice of medicine. In all 
his writings he showed himself straight- 
forward and honest, never statmg what 
he did not know, and, when he felt that 
assistance was necessary, he was ready to 
ask it, and he always gave full credit for 
the assistance secured. His writings did 
not aim at extensive original research, but 
rather endeavored to popularize the latest 
and best in medical thought. "The Lan- 
cet" called him "The Watson of Amer- 
ica." 

Dr. Flint was an active member of 
many leading American medical and 
scientific societies, and was a correspond- 
ing member of various similar European 
organizations. In 1862 he became a 
member of the New York Academy of 
Medicine, was its orator in 1868, its vice- 
president in 1871 and 1872, and its presi- 
dent in 1873 and 1874. On his induction 
into the latter office, Peaslee said: "We 
have always found you the high-minded 
and sympathetic man, and the genial 
gentleman, as well as the finished scholar, 
the distinguished author, and the skillful 
practitioner." Dr. Flint retained his 
membership in the academy until a short 
time prior to his death. In 1883 he was 
elected president of the American Med- 

31, 



ical Association, was one of the orators at 
three International Congresses (Philadel- 
phia, 1876, London, 1881, Copenhagen, 
1884). It was his suggestion which led 
to the meeting of the International Med- 
ical Congress in this country in 1887, and 
he was to have delivered the presidential 
address, as the successor of Dr. Samuel 
D. Gross, but his death, which occurred 
in New York, March 13, 1886, intervened. 
He was the first American to deliver the 
address in medicine before the British 
Medical Association, in 1886. He was 
loved and respected by his fellows, and 
no stronger proof of this is needed than 
his selection as the compromise candidate 
in the Medical Congress of 1877, both 
parties to that bitter controversy accept- 
ing him, and he was a strong factor in 
bringing about an understanding. The 
following is a partial list of his writings : 
"Practice of Medicine," which ran 
through seven editions, with the enor- 
mous sale of forty thousand copies, 
"Variations in Percussion and Respira- 
tory Sounds," "Clinical Study of the 
Heart Sounds in Health and Disease," 
"Physical Exploration and Diagnosis of 
Diseases affecting the Respiratory Or- 
gans," "A Practical Treatise upon the 
Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment of 
Diseases of the Heart," "Essays on Con- 
servatism," "Medicine and Kindred 
Topics," "Phthisis; Its Morbid Anatomy, 
Etiology, Symptomatic Events and Com- 
plications, Fatality and Prognosis, Treat- 
ment and Physical Diagnosis, in a Series 
of Clinical Studies," "A Manual of Per- 
cussion and Auscultation," "Clinical 
Medicine, A Systematic Treatise on the 
Diagnosis and Treatment of Disease," 
"Physical Exploration of the Lungs by 
Means of Auscultation and Percussion," 
"Medical Ethics and Etiquette," and 
"Medicine in the Future," which was one 
of his last works. From this wonderful 
height of observation he looked forward 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



as well as backward, and predicted: 
"That the history of medicine will have 
a steady acceleration in progress ; that 
knowledge with reference to anatomy, 
histology and chemistry will advance; 
that our senses will be aided and aug- 
mented ; that hearing will be vastly im- 
proved by means of microphonic stetho- 
scopes; that a judicious blood-letting will 
be revived, and that the lancet will again 
find a place which it lost through over- 
use ; that bacterial etiology will be estab- 
lished and revolutionize the treatment of 
certain diseases ; that the little understood 
functions of the spleen and liver, the thy- 
roid body, the lymphatic glands, the su- 
prerenal capsules ofTer problems which 
will form a vast and fruitful field for 
future clinical research." 



HALPINE, Charles G.. 

Soldier, Journalist, Poet. 

Charles Graham Halpine, known to the 
world as "Miles O'Reilly," a writer of 
sparkling abilitv, is chiefly rememl)ered 
for his gems of verse, produced during 
the Civil War period. Probably to this 
day, no reunion of soldiers of that war 
passes without the singing of his song so 
reminiscent to them — "We have drunk 
from the same canteen." 

He was born near Oldcastle, County 
Meath, Ireland, November 20, 1829. son 
of Rev. Nicholas J. Halpine, a Church of 
England clergyman of great ability, and 
editor of the "Evening Mail," the chief 
Protestant journal in Dublin. A peculiar 
aptitude for literature marked the family. 
Charles, his father's favorite, early gave 
promise of unusual abilities, and entered 
Trinity College, Dublin, at as early an 
age as the college rules permitted, and 
graduated with distinction in 1846. He 
began the study of medicine, but soon 
abandoned it for the more congenial vo- 
cation of journalism. He contributed to 



the press in Ireland and England, until 
feeling that his powers were cramped, he 
emigrated to the United States in 1849. 
He established himself in Boston, where 
he was joined by his young wife, whom 
he had left to follow as soon as he had 
secured a position. His first work was 
on the Boston "Post," but he shortly be- 
came leading editor of the "Carpet Bag," 
a humorous journal conducted by Ben- 
jamin Shillaber ("Mrs. Partington") and 
Dr. Shepley. After its failure in 1852 he 
removed to New York, where, after being 
engaged a few months upon the "Herald," 
he became associated with Henry J. Ray- 
mond, on "The Times." Soon afterward 
he secured an interest with John Clancy 
in the New York "Leader," to which he 
devoted his best efforts, and his political 
articles and humorous sketches were so 
highly appreciated that the circulation of 
the paper increased enormously, and it 
became a political power. He had a re- 
markable faculty for fictitious invention, 
and under a wager produced a long 
account of the resuscitation of Hicks, the 
pirate, executed on Bedloe's Island, 
which created great excitement. His pen 
was versatile and prolific, turning out 
articles of every description, which he 
adapted to the needs of the various jour- 
nals of the day. To "The Tribune," 
which printed his first article, he con- 
tributed verse, including the famous lyric: 

Tear down the flaunting lie! 
Half-mast the starry flag! 

which was long falsely attributed to Hor- 
ace Greeley. 

When the Civil War broke out, Halpine 
was commissioned lieutenant in the Sixty- 
Ninth (Irish) Regiment under Colonel 
Michael J. Corcoran. Soon afterward he 
was appointed assistant adjutant-general 
with the rank of major, and assigned to 
duty on the staff of General Hunter, with 



316 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



whom he served during the greater part 
of the war, Major Halpine prepared the 
first order for the enrollment of a negro 
regiment, and which brought upon him 
the ban of outlawry by the Confederates, 
the penalty being the immediate execution 
of both General Hunter and his adjutant, 
should they be captured. When Major- 
General Halleck became commander-in- 
chief. Major Halpine was transferred to 
his staff, and, in addition to assisting in 
his official correspondence, contributed 
much by his pen to moulding the public 
mind to military necessities. Under the 
pen-name of "Miles O'Reilly," in the 
assumed character of a private in the 
Forty-seventh New York Regiment, he 
wrote a number of amusing articles which 
proved successful, and resulted in great 
good to the service. His poem, "Sambo's 
right to be kilt," was as astonishing as 
its arguments were unanswerable, and 
regiments of blacks became not only pos- 
sible, but a necessity, while white soldiers 
became reconciled to an innovation which 
they at first resented almost to the point 
of mutiny. 

Upon his return to New York, Halpine 
served upon the staff of General John A. 
Dix. He attracted the attention of the 
Citizens' Association by his newspaper 
articles exposing the corruption of the 
city government, and, having resigned 
from the army, he was offered the conduct 
of "The Citizen," the organ of the reform 
movement. He accepted the position, and 
soon afterward purchased the paper, 
which he conducted until his death. His 
irrepressible activity enabled him to find 
time to contribute articles to other papers, 
and to engage in hunting down corruption 
in the political arena, even though it led 
him to battle against an organization 
which had formerly been his home. His 
first victory was his election to the regis- 
tership by a coalition of Republicans and 
Democrats, and this was followed by 

31: 



other triumphs. Colonel Halpine in all 
his writings worked for a purpose. He 
made no pretense to linish and adorn- 
ment of style, and rarely read his produc- 
tions except to correct proof. His love 
songs are exquisite works of art, which 
are only excelled by his poems in memory 
of those who fell in the war for the Union. 
His works include "Life and Adventures, 
Songs, Services, and Speeches of Private 
Miles O'Reilly, 47th Regiment, New 
York Volunteers;" "Baked Meats of the 
Funeral : a Collection of Essays, Poems, 
Speeches, and Banquets by Private Miles 
O'Reilly." He was the author of "Lyrics 
by the Letter H." Robert B. Roosevelt 
collected "The Poetical Works of Charles 
G. Halpine" after his death. His unre- 
mitting literary labors made him subject 
to insomnia, for which he took opiates; 
and by an unfortunate mistake, he took 
an overdose of chloroform when attacked 
by a severe pain in the head, and from 
which he died, August 3, 1868. 



WEED, Thurlow, 

Journalist, Politician. 

Nathan Weed, a soldier of the Revo- 
lution, removed immediately upon its 
close from Stamford, Connecticut, first 
to Dutchess and then to Greene county, 
whither his son Joel, who had married 
Mary Ells, of New Haven, followed him, 
their eldest child, Thurlow, being born at 
d small place called Acra, in the town of 
Cairo, November 15, 1797. Joel was a 
hard-working man, with a kind heart and 
a desire to do the best he could for his 
children, but he was ill-starred m his 
efforts to acquire a competence and, mov- 
ing from place to pl.ice, calamity succeed- 
ing calamity, always remained miserably 
poor. Thurlow was forced, at the tender 
age of eight years, to earn his own living, 
having been less than two years at a 
primary school. As a boy he roamed the 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



State in menial service — a bellows blower 
in a Cairo blacksmith shop ; a cabin boy 
on a North river steamer; a "devil" on 
the Catskill "Recorder;" helper to his 
father on a "hard scrabble" farm in Cort- 
land county ; moulder in a furnace and a 
garden weeder at Onondaga "Hollow," 
where he had a few weeks study at the 
academy ; apprentice on the Onondaga 
"Lynx;" a recruit in the War of 1812 on 
the Canadian frontier; a journeyman 
printer in Auburn, Utica, Cooperstown, 
Herkimer, New York; foreman on the 
Albany "Register," with diligent reading 
and the education of the printer's case — 
often a good education, with him notably 
so. At twenty-one, he was the proprietor of 
the "Agriculturist" at Norwich and at 
twenty-two publisher of the Manlius "Re- 
publican" — a Clintonian weekly — both 
these ventures at the end being financial 
failures ; and, in 1822, he went to Roches- 
ter, then but a straggling village, with 
but a few hundred inhabitants, to try his 
future fortunes. With scant regard for 
prudential considerations, he had married 
at Cooperstown, April 26, 1818, Cather- 
ine Ostrander, who was, for nearly his 
life-time, his loving companion and faith- 
ful household guardian, and "to this for- 
tunate marriage" as himself says, "I am 
indebted for as much happiness as usually 
falls to the lot of man and very largely 
for whatever of personal success and 
pecuniary prosperity, I have since en- 
joyed. She more than divided our labors, 
cares and responsibilities. But for her 
industry, frugality and good manage- 
ment, I must have been shipwrecked dur- 
ing the first fifteen years of trial * * * 
Economy, order and a well-regulated 
system in household affairs were virtues 
which I did not possess and their presence 
in her saved us from disaster." 

Thurlow Weed began his life in 
Rochester with a stalwart body, an iron 
constitution, well trained in his craft, 



with a good English education self- 
acquired, in touch with public affairs, an 
excellent knowledge of, and aptitude for, 
politics, a rare facility in making friends 
and a will determined to succeed in his 
calling. He found at once a helpful 
friend in Everard Peck, a book-seller and 
also the publisher of the "Telegraph," a 
small weekly paper of Clintonian pro- 
clivities, who gave him employment on 
the paper. Weed was soon writing all 
the editorials, thereby enhancing its 
popularity and patronage and his own 
esteem in the community. The "Tele- 
graph" was a cordial supporter of the 
election of John Quincy Adams in 1824, 
and, in that year, Weed was elected to the 
Assembly on an Adams ticket, favoring, 
however, Clinton for Governor. In that 
body. Weed was persuasive in counsel, 
although he did not take the floor, al- 
ways dreading and never trying to be a 
public speaker. In 1825, he purchased 
the "Telegraph" and, early in 1826, find- 
ing its business increasing with the in- 
creasing growth of the village, invited 
Robert Martin, of the Albany "Adver- 
tiser," to join him in issuing the "Tele- 
graph" as a daily, it being among the 
first daily newspapers in Western New 
York. This connection lasted but a few 
months, owing to the divergent views of 
the two proprietors regarding "Anti- 
Masonry," and Weed retired, to establish 
the "Anti-Masonic Enquirer" which soon 
acquired a large circulation, not alone in 
New York but in adjoining states, and 
which he edited until 1830, meantime 
appreciating his political influence, de- 
cidedly the strongest Anti-Masonic leader 
in the State. He was returned to the 
Assembly in 1829 as an Anti-Mason, the 
last public ofifice he ever held, unless that 
of State printer be excepted. He was 
thereafter to be the Warwick of his party. 
In 1829, plans for the establishment of 
an Anti-Masonic organ at the State 



318 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



capital were consummated and Thurlow 
Weed was invited to become its editor. 
Indeed, as himself says, this was the real 
purpose of his election, that year, to the 
Assembly. The enterprise was cordially 
approved by Messrs. Granger, Seward, 
Tracy, Wadsworth and others and con- 
tributions to its capital were freely 
offered. Leaving Rochester reluctantly, 
for he was tenderly attached to the place, 
he was installed as editor of the Albany 
"Evening Journal," the first issue of 
which was of date, March 22, 1830. Its 
history, under his headship, is one of the 
most interesting in the annals of Amer- 
ican journalism. Its success was assured 
from the start, although it entered a field 
already occupied by two prosperous 
plants — the "Advertiser" and the "Ar- 
gus." Beginning with but one hundred 
and seventy daily and three hundred 
semi-weekly patrons, subscribers rallied 
to its support until, in 1840, its circulation 
exceeded that of any other political paper 
in the State; and that success was chiefly 
due to the quality of its editorial columns, 
at a time when this counted much more 
than the enterprise of the news-gatherer 
or the conduct of the counting room. 
Thurlow Weed was a great editor. Others 
may have excelled him in scholarship or 
grace of style. None has excelled him 
in vigor or versatility of expression, in 
pith or probe, in the ability with which 
he advocated his own cause, or the skill 
with which he exposed the fallacies of the 
opposition. His editorials, impact with 
reason, bristled with points ; and. if not 
the originator, he was the master, of 
short, telling paragraphs — "squibs" as 
they are called in the profession. As 
Greeley says in his "Recollections," Weed 
was the most sententious and pungent 
writer of paragraphs in the American 
press. The exchange of shots between 
himself and Edwin Croswell of the 
"Argus" — "Greek meeting Greek" — are 

.3 



famous for their accuracy of aim and 
telling effect, his own hits contributing 
essentially to the fall of the "Albany Re- 
gency." The "Journal" became in due 
time the supreme organ of the Whig, and 
measurably of the Republican, party, in 
the north, as well as in the State, all the 
smaller papers of like faith, nodding as- 
sent to its utterances, while Weed per- 
sonally became the manager of his polit- 
ical organization. 

His partisan directorship — in his case, 
a more appropriate designation than 
"boss" — began with the birth of the Whig 
party and practically ended with the 
accession of the Lincoln administration. 
It may not here be detailed, but certain 
events, wherein he spoke the decisive 
word, stand out in bold relief — the nomi- 
nation of Seward for Governor in 1834 
and his elections in 1838 and 1840; the 
nomination of Harrison for the Presi- 
dency in 1840 and the spirited canvass of 
that year; the nomination of Taylor and 
Fillmore in 1848 ; the selection of Seward 
for the United States Senate in 1849 and 
opposition to Fillmore, consequent upon 
his signature of the compromise meas- 
ures, including the F"ugitive Slave Law 
in 1850; his vindication of Seward by re- 
election to the Senate in 1855, under 
peculiarly trying circumstances ; and his 
seating of Morgan in the Senate in 1863, 
his last signal victory. He discovered 
Greeley and fostered the campaign papers 
— the "Jeffersonian" in 1838 and the "Log 
Cabin" in 1840 — which Greeley edited 
effectively; and instituted the firm, 
"Seward, Weed and Greeley," unhappily 
severed at Greeley's instance in later 
years. He earnestly sustained the can- 
didacy of Fremont in 1856 and that of 
Lincoln in i860, although grievously 
wounded at the "turn down" of Seward, 
the logical Republican candidate, with 
whom his relations for many years, were 
of the closest and most endearing char- 
19 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 

acter. He was Seward's mentor, as well in choosing the path of peace as the path of 
as his Warwick. With the "Journal" as 
the oracle of his party, Weed was its un- 
disputed controller, with his affable ways, 
his uniform consultations with prominent 
party representatives, his frequent visita- 
tions throughout the State to familiarize 
himself as to local conditions, his con- 
tinuing genius for acquiring friends and 
followers, his sincere devotion to the 
principles he professed, industrious in 
afifairs and wise in counsel, declining all 
political preferment, three foreign mis- 
sions at least being tendered him ; without 
a stain upon his character and profiting 
nothing pecuniarily from politics, unless 
his emoluments as public printer early in 
his journalistic career are so regarded. 
From 1863 on, he was potent, but not 
absolute, as a politician. 

As the war approached. Weed betrayed 
Conservative leanings, advised compro- 
mise with the South and was, thereafter, 
known as a Conservative Republican. 
The President-elect invited him to con- 
fidential conference at Springfield and he 
was materially persuasive in the constitu- 
tion of Lincoln's cabinet and in the con- 
structive measures of that administration. 
In October, 1861, he was deputed, with 
Archbishop Hughes and Bishop Mc- 
Ilvaine, on an unofficial mission to 
Europe, mainly to be informed as to 
public opinion and to persuade govern- 
ment officials there in behalf of the Union 
cause ; and, it is said, that the friendly 
attitude of Queen Victoria was sensibly 
induced by his representations. He re- 
tired from the Albany "Journal," Janu- 
ary 28, 1863, in a dignified editorial from 
which the following is an extract : 

I differ widely with my party about the best 
means of crushing the rebcIHon. I can neither 
impress others with my views, nor surrender my 
own solemn convictions. The alternative of 
hving in strife with those I have esteemed, or 
withdrawing, is presented. I have not hesitated 



duty. If those who differ with me are right and 
the country is carried safely through its present 
struggle, all will be well and "nobody hurt." 

This did not mean that he "had ceased 
to be a Republican," as Greeley put it, 
but that he could not fellowship with the 
radical element and that, while refusing 
to become an Abolitionist, he did not 
wish to force his views upon the readers 
of the "Journal." He thereafter made 
his home in New York, still in the full 
vigor of health and with competent 
estate. He continued to interest himself 
in politics and, although no longer a 
dictator, made, as a tactician, several bril- 
liant coups. He was an ardent advocate 
of the renomination of Lincoln in 1864; 
and cordially sustained President John- 
son in his reconstruction measures and in 
the impeachment trial. In 1867-68, he 
edited the "Cominercial Advertiser" upon 
conservative lines. He advocated Grant's 
election in 1868 and his reelection in 
1872 ; and, in the same year suggested 
General Dix as the Republican candidate 
for Governor and aided his election over 
Francis Kernan, the combined Demo- 
cratic and Liberal Republican nominee. 
As his years advanced, his energies abated 
and he ceased in the late seventies to 
concern himself with politics, although 
to the end he kept himself an courant with 
current events. He lived quietly and 
serenely in his New York home, with his 
daughter Harriet as a "ministering 
angel" and died there November 22, 1S82, 
having just passed the eighty-fifth year 
of his age, three daugliters surviving him. 
His autobiography, edited by his daugh- 
ter, one of the interesting, as well as 
frankest, works of its kind, was published 
by Houghton, Mifflin & Company in 18S3 
and the "Life of Thurlow Weed," by his 
grandson, Thurlow Weed Barnes, appear- 
ed somewhat later. 



320 



i„^>^' 



,.*«#^^ 




/\^M/<:'- ^- K^^aA 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



HOUGH, Franklin B., 

Scientiit, Father of American Forestry. 

Dr. Franklin R. Hough was one of the 
most industrious scientific students and 
teachers that the country has produced. 
His researches extended to civil history, 
botany, mineralogy and arboriculture, 
and in the latter field his exceedingly use- 
ful service brought him the distinguish- 
ing title of "Father of American For- 
estry." He was a prolific writer on all 
these topics, and a biographer has said of 
him that "there has probably been no son 
of New York whose bibliographical rec- 
ord shows so varied and valuable a con- 
tribution to the literature of the State." 

He was born July 20, 1822, in Martins- 
burg. Lewis county, New York, young- 
est child of Horatio Gates and Martha 
(Pitcher) Hough. He was but eight 
years of age when his father died, and he 
was reared by a mother of great intelli- 
gence and energy. He attended a com- 
mon school about one-fourth of a mile 
from his home. He was quite precocious, 
and kept in advance of his classmates, 
but this did not lessen the zest with 
which he participated in boyish sports. 
In a reminiscence he said that he prob- 
ably learned as much of the ordinary 
branches from hearing recitations of 
older classmates in the mixed school of 
the day as from his own study. In the 
summer of 1836 he went to Turin to 
attend a select school taught by Stephen 
Moulton, who was a strong believer in 
corporal punishment, and an indifferent 
teacher, and the youth suffered much 
from homesickness. Having read in his 
father's library the "American Journal of 
Arts and Sciences," his appetite for learn- 
ing was much whetted. When he was 
fifteen years of age he began to take 
much interest in mineralogy and geology, 
and began making explorations for the 
collection of specimens. In 1837 ^^ began 

N Y-Vol 1-21 3. 



his first term at Lowville Academy, and 
received considerable aid in these studies 
from the preceptor, Mr. Bannister. About 
this time young Hough made a journey 
on foot, a distance of twenty-five miles, 
to visit the natural bridge in Jefferson 
county, New York, for the purpose of 
studying geological formations. 

Having formed a resolution to obtain 
a college education, he entered a village 
school at Martinsburg, taught by the 
Rev. Calvin Yale, where he continued 
from November, 1838, to April, 1839. 
Subsequently for about one year he was 
a student of the Black River Literary and 
Religious Institute at Watertown, New 
York. During the summer of 1839 ^^ 
made a trip down the Mohawk Valley to 
Saratoga and return, collecting minerals, 
in which his interest had progressed. On 
September i, 1840, at the age of eighteen 
years, he started for Schenectady to enter 
Union College. At the close of his first 
term he walked from that place to his 
home, making the distance from Rome, 
forty-five miles, in one night. In order 
to secure means for prosecuting his 
college studies, he engaged in teach- 
ing. His first term, in the winter of 
1840-41, was in a district school in Mar- 
tinsburg, for which he received a salary 
of twelve dollars per month of twenty- 
six days. Next year he received a salary 
of sixteen dollars per month and "board- 
ing 'round," as was the custom of the 
time. He graduated from, Union College 
in 1843, ^ri<^ was elected a member of the 
Phi Beta Kappa Society. After graduat- 
ing, he began teaching in the academy at 
the village of Champion, Jefferson coun- 
ty, and during the winter he delivered 
several lectures on temperance, and also 
began the study of medicine with Dr. 
Gordon P. Spencer, a prominent physi- 
cian of that day. At this time he spent 
considerable time in botanizing, and in 
the summer of that \ear he prepared a 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



catalogue of the plants indigenous to 
Lewis county, and which was afterward 
published, and forms Senate Document 
No. 71, of 1846. To provide means for 
continuing his medical studies, he again 
engaged in teaching, and proceeded to 
Ohio, where an uncle was residing, and 
where he hoped to find profitable em- 
ployment. .\t the village of Gustavus. 
Ohio, he took charge of an academy, for 
which he paid a small rent, and received 
the tuition. He could thtn purchase soft 
coal from, a mine nearby at one dollar per 
ton, and good hard wood for one dollar 
per cord. Tuition was proportioned to 
these economical prices, running from 
three to five dollars a term of thirteen 
weeks. The school was fairly success- 
ful, and after its close Mr. Hough pro- 
ceeded by way of Pittsburgh, Philadel- 
phia, New York and Albany, to his home. 
The next year he returned to Gustavus. 
but the establishment of other academies 
nearby interfered with his success some- 
what, and he now determined to give up 
teaching and devote his energies to prose- 
cuting his medical education. He attend- 
ed his first course of lectures in a medical 
college at Cleveland, during the winter of 
1846-47, and at the end of this term 
walked from Cleveland to his home in 
New York, accomplishing his journey in 
sixteen days. The following winter he 
attended another course of lectures, and 
was now prepared to enter upon practice. 
He purchased the property and practice 
of a physician in Somerville, St. Law- 
rence county, and, having secured twelve 
dollars' worth of medicines and bargained 
for a saddle, he started for his field of 
labor, March 9, 1848. His practice was 
fair from the start, for he was successful 
as a physician, and his spare time was 
devoted to his favorite botanical and 
mineralogical researches. 

Dr. Hough lectured on scientific sub- 
jects in an academy conducted by Rev. 



John W. Armstrong, at Gouveneur, New 
York, and his mineralogical explorations 
in the vicinity of Somerville, nearby, re- 
sulted in his discovery of new mineral 
which was named "houghite," in his 
honor. He established exchanges with 
other collectors, and put up several thou- 
sand sets of minerals for an establish- 
ment engaged in supplying such sets for 
schools, and during one year he served 
as town superintendent of schools. He 
became much interested in the history of 
the northern New York region, and in 
185 1 delivered a lecture by invitation at 
Ogdensburg on the early history of St. 
Lawrence county. This made a good im- 
pression, and, to supply a demand, he ex- 
panded it into a volume which was issued 
as "A History of St. Lawrence and 
Franklin Counties," forming the first of 
his numerous historical publications 
After practicing medicine four years in 
Somerville, he removed to Brownsville, 
and devoted himself entirely to historical 
investigations. His only return to his 
profession was when he served one year 
and three months during the Civil War 
as sanitary inspector, and nine months as 
surgeon of the Ninety-seventh Regiment 
New York Volunteers, though he kept 
abreast with his profession throughout 
his life. His taste for historical study 
led him to publish in 1854 a "History of 
Jefferson County," and in 1856 of his 
native county. He also contributed many 
articles on scientific subjects to various 
periodicals, and became a most volumi- 
nous writer. In 1855 he was appointed Su- 
]ierintendent of the State Census, and en- 
tered upon his task with great energy. The 
work occupied him for several years, and 
was the first thorough and comprehen- 
sive census that had been taken by the 
State, and has served as a model for all 
that have sticceeded it. He aided largely 
in the preparation of French's "Gazetteer 
of the State of New York," published in 



322 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



i860. To secure the facts necessary, he 
visited all parts of the State, examined 
the records, and made extensive and 
minute inquiries concerning localities. 
Eleven years later he issued a new edi- 
tion of "The Gazetteer," which was much 
superior to its predecessor. In July, 1863, 
he was commissioned by Governor Sey- 
mour a quartermaster of the Seventh 
Division of the National Guard, State of 
New York, with the rank of lieutenant- 
colonel, and was subsequently detached 
from that division and assigned to duty 
in the Bureau of Military Statistics, 
where he continued until the close of 
1764. Again, in 1865, he was made Super- 
intendent of the Census. In 1872 he was 
made a member of the commission in 
charge of State Parks. In 1873 he pre- 
sented a paper on "The Duty of Govern- 
ments in the Preservation of Forests" 
before the American Association for the 
Advancement of Science, at its meeting 
in Portland, Maine. The occasion was a 
notable one, because it was the first pub- 
lic movement toward the establishment 
of a forestry system in America. Follow- 
ing the reading of the paper, a committee, 
of which Dr. Hough was made chairman, 
was appointed "to memorialize Congress 
and the several State legislatures upon 
the importance of promoting the cultiva- 
tion of timber and the preservation of for- 
ests, and to recommend proper legisla- 
tion for securing these objects." The 
proceedings of the association of that and 
subsequent years show with what untir- 
ing energy and perseverance Dr. Hough 
applied himself to the discharge of the 
duties of the committee. It was at a time 
when the public mind was not yet alive 
to the importance of the subject, and he 
met with very little encouragement. His 
efforts were finally crowned with success, 
however, by the establishment of a divi- 
sion of forestry under the United States 
Department of Agriculture in 1876, and 



he has since then been looked upon as 
the "F"ather of Forestry in America." He 
was appointed the first Commissioner of 
Forestry, and as such issued several very 
comprehensive reports, which were very 
favorably reviewed by European critics ; 
one, an officer of the Wiirtemberg forest 
service, remarking, "it awakens our sur- 
prise that a man not a specialist should 
have so mastered the whole body of 
American and European forestry litera- 
ture and legislation." In 1881 he visited 
Europe as an agent of the United States 
government to investigate and report 
upon the various systems of forestry as 
practiced there. In 1882 he published a 
systematic handbook entitled "Elements 
of Forestry." Many of his observations 
were published in a periodical which he 
established, called the "American Jour- 
nal of Forestry." The subject had not, 
however, received sufficient attention in 
this country to secure support of such a 
journal, and it was suspended after the 
completion of the first volume. Through 
the influence of Dr. Hough, forestry asso- 
ciations were formed, and to his influence 
is largely due the system adopted in 
many States of planting trees on Arbor 
Day. Dr. Hough's researches and accu- 
mulations made it necessary for him to 
construct, near his home in Lowville, a 
separate building for his library, and he 
probably owned at the time of his death 
the most extensive and complete collec- 
tion of the publications of the State to 
be found in any library, public or private. 
By patient search, by purchase, exchange 
and gift, he had secured piactically every- 
thing relating to the political and legis- 
lative history of his home State, having 
about fifteen thousand volumes, mostly 
of this class. In this library he spent 
most of his time when at home. He said 
four hours of sleep sufficed him, and 
often when he awoke in the night he 
would dress himself and go to his library 



3^3 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and resume work. He seemed incapable 
of fatigue, and spent very little time in 
recreation. His work was his pleasure. 
He "sought repose in labor," as he 
was wont to say, when remonstrated 
with for not taking more rest, explaining 
that he always had three or more totally 
distinct manuscripts in progress at the 
same time, and these in different rooms. 
On tiring of working at one, he would 
leave it and, going into another room, 
take up another, and there amid new sur- 
roundings and with thoughts working in 
an entirely different line he could apply 
himself with as fresh vigor as though a 
nap had intervened ; or, perhaps, he would 
take up some bit of manual labor, like 
working in his garden or about the home 
grounds, of which he was very fond. He 
was a man of wonderful constitution, 
both physical and mental, and scarcely 
ever knew what sickness was until the 
last. For the use of the Constitutional 
Convention of New York in 1867 he pre- 
pared the Convention Manual. In 1872 
he issued two large volumes, entitled 
"American Constitutions." His m.ost im- 
portant literary enterprise was an "Ab- 
stract of the Laws of New York from 
1777 to 1885." Dr. Hough was reckless 
of his health, and had scarcely ever 
known what sickness was. In the winter 
of 1884-85 he contracted a cold at Albany, 
which brought on inflammation of the 
lungs, and this was succeeded by a weak- 
ness of the heart. He returned to his 
home in Lowville in the spring of 1885, 
and there passed away on June 11. 

Dr. Hough was in many respects a re- 
markable man. He had singular power 
of concentrating his mind, and mastered 
many sciences by private study and in- 
vestigation. He had a marvelous memory 
and his systematic arrangement of topics 
enabled him to cover a large amount of 
ground. Thorough and conscientious, he 
snared himself no labor to '^ecure accu- 



racy. Though not an orator, he could 
express his thoughts clearly and forcibly 
upon any subject, and he was equally 
strong as a writer. "In all things he was 
the genuine man, the true and honest 
heart which despiseth shams, one of the 
world's workers, and not an idler." He 
was a member of many learned societies, 
and in their published proceedings and 
transactions are found many of his papers 
and addresses. Many were published in 
the New York Senate and Assembly 
documents and in the "Reports of the 
Regents of the University of the State of 
New York," and hundreds were contribu- 
tions to the press. The following is a 
classified list of the principal publications 
written or edited by him : Historical— 
"History of St. Lawrence and Franklin 
Counties," New York, 1853 ; same, Jeffer- 
son county, 1854 ; same, Lewis county, 
i860; same (historical part), 1S83; "Low- 
ville Academy Semi-centennial," 1859; 
"History of Duryee's Brigade," 1864; 
"New York Civil List" (originated and 
edited for eight years), 1855-63: "Nan- 
tucket Papers," i8s6;"Pemaquid Papers," 
1856; "Pemaquid in its Relation to our 
Colonial History," 1874; Easton's "Phil- 
lip's Indian War," 1853, "Hatfield and 
Deerfield" (attack of 1677), 1859; "Siege 
of Detroit" (1763), i860; "Proceedings of 
Commissioners of Indian AfTairs" (two 
volumes 4to), 1841 ; "Captain Leonard 
Bleeker's Order Book," 1865; "Major 
Andre's Court Martial," 1865 ; "Gen. Ar- 
nold's Court of Inquiry," 1865 ;"Pouchot's 
Memoirs of the War of 1755-60" (trans- 
lated from the French and annotated), 
1866; "Washingtoniana" (two volumes), 
1865 ; "Bibliographical List of Books and 
Pamphlets Relating to the Death of Gen. 
Washington," 1865 ; "Siege of Savannah" 
(1779), 1866; "Siege of Charleston" 
(1780). 1866; "Andre's Cow Chase," 1S66; 
"Northern Invasion of 17S0," 1861 ; "Plan 
for Seizing Col. (ioff, the Regicide," 1835 ; 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



"Proclamations of Thanksgiving," 1856; 
"Gazetteer of New York," i860; same, 
1872; "Crimean War" (translated and 
annotated), 1862; "Historical Sketch of 
Union College," 1876; "Journals of Major 
Robt. Rogers" (1755-60), 1883; "Ameri- 
can Biographical Notes," 1875 ; "Centen- 
nial History of the Regents," 1885. Scien- 
tific — "Catalogue of the Plants of Lewis 
County," 1846; "Meteorological Observa- 
tions of New York Academies" (1825-50), 
1855 ; same, second series (1851-63), 1872; 
"Essay on the Climate of New York," 
1857; "Observations upon Periodical Phe- 
nomena of Animal and Vegetable Life," 
1862 ; "Report on Forestry" (prepared 
for Committee on Public Lands), 1874; 
"Report on Forestry," 1877 (under com- 
mission from Congress); same, 1878-79; 
same, 1880-81; same, 1882; same, 1884 
(in part) ; "Elements of Forestry," 1883; 
"Journal of Forestry," 1883; "Journal of 
Forestry," 1882-83. Constitution and Laws 
— "New York Convention Manual" (two 
volumes), 1867; "New York Constitution 
of 1846," 1867; "American Constitu- 
tions" (two volumes), 187 1 ; "Constitu- 
tional Provisions in Regard to Educa- 
tion," 1875; "Convention of 1780." Sta- 
tistics — "New York State Census," 1855 ; 
same, 1865 ; same of New York City, 
1865 ; "History of the Census in the State 
of New York," 1868; "Census of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia," 1867; "Comprehen- 
sive Farm Record," i860; "American 
Farm Register," 1877; "Essay on Medical 
and Vital Statistics" (prize essay read 
before the State Medical Society), 1867. 
Miscellaneous — "The Thousand Islands 
of the St. Lawrence" (descriptive, his- 
torical and legendary), 1880; "Biography 
of James L. Leonard." 1867 ; "Biography 
of Dr. Chas. Melford Crandall ;" "Biog- 
raphy of Dr. Willard;" "Biography of 
Peter Penet," 1866; "Biography of Te-ho- 
-ra-gwa-ne-gen, alias Thomas Williams, 
a Chief of the Caughnawaga tribe of In- 



dians in Canada," 1859. The following 
works were ready for publication at the 
time of death, but have not yet been pub- 
lished : "Castorland Journal" (an anno- 
tated translation of a journal kept by a 
company of colonists who emigrated from 
France in 1793 to settle in the wilderness 
of northern New York) ; "Abstract of the 
Laws of New York," from the beginning 
of state government to date (six large 
octavo volumes). The following was 
nearly ready for publication : "Existing 
Constitution of New York" (showing by 
comparative columns the four constitu- 
tions), large octavo. 

In 1843 Union College conferred upon 
Dr. Hough the degree of Bachelor of 
Arts, and subsequently that of Master of 
Arts. He received a medical degree from 
Cleveland Medical College in 1848, and 
the Regents of the State of New York 
conferred upon him the degree of Doctor 
of Philosophy. July 9, 1845, ^^ married 
(first) Maria S. Eggleston, of Champion, 
who died June 2, 1848. They had one 
child, Lora Maria, born October 18. 1846, 
married. March 15, 1875, Benjamin W. 
Bailey, and resided in Black River, New 
York. He married (second) May 16. 
1849, Mariah Ellen Kilham, who survived 
him. 



LANSING. John, Jr., 

Lawyer, Legislator, Chaneellor. 

John Lansing, Jr.. who achieved dis- 
tinction as a legislator and jurist, attain- 
ing the highest judicial preferment in the 
State, of pure Dutch lineage, of a family 
prominent socially and intellectually, for 
generations, was born in Albany, January 
30, 1754. He studied law with Robert 
Yates, afterward Chief Justice, in Albany, 
and with James Duane, in New York 
City, intermitting his studies in 1776 and 
1777, to act as military secretary to Gen- 
eral Schuyler, while that officer was in 



325 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



command of the northern department. 
After being admitted to the bar, in 1779, he 
practiced with marked success in Albany, 
his lifelong residence. In 1781 he married 
the daughter of Robert Ray, a patriotic 
citizen of New York, a member of the 
"Commjttee of 100," who bore him four 
children, all daughters. Lansing begun 
his political career as a member of As- 
sembly in 1781, and was returned thereto 
for the sessions of 1782, 1783, 1784, 1786 
and 1789, being chosen speaker for the 
last two terms. He was appointed dele- 
gate to the Continental Congress, Febru- 
ary 3, 1784, and reappointed October 26 
following. He was mayor of Albany 
from 1786 until 1790. With his political 
principles of democratic cast, from the 
first, when political creeds were definitely 
announced, he became a staunch Repub- 
lican, with all which that implies of State 
sovereignty, popular direction and eco- 
nomic precepts ; and in the activities of 
that party he adhered to Governor George 
Clinton and was one of the most trusted 
lieutenants of that aggressive chief. He 
received a third appointment to the Con- 
tinental Congress, January 26, 1787. 

Lansing soon had the opportunity of 
expressing his creed officially, being des- 
ignated, at the behest of the Governor, 
as one of three delegates to the body that 
resolved itself into the Federal Consti- 
tutional Convention — Robert Yates and 
Alexander Hamilton being the others— 
the Legislature distinctly declaring that 
they were appointed "for the sole pur- 
pose of revising the articles of confedera- 
tion." Hamilton, whose selection was "a 
sop to Cerberus," on Clinton's part, paid 
small heed to this instruction, but Lans- 
ing, and Yates as well, obeyed it to the 
letter, desiring nothing more than an 
amendment to the existing confederation, 
known as the New Jersey plan, Lansing 
moving a declaration that "the powers of 
legislation be vested in the United States 



Congress," stating that the principles of 
that plan were an equality of representa- 
tion and dependence of the members of 
Congress upon the States. This was a 
close call for the advocates of a national 
government, with an executive, legisla- 
ture and judiciary of its own, his motion 
being negatived by a vote by States, four 
for and six against, Maryland being 
divided. Upon the approval of the Vir- 
ginia scheme, which Lansing and Yates 
regarded as presenting a system of consol- 
idated government at variance with the 
rights of the States, they withdrew from 
the convention July 10, refusing to sign 
the constitution as adopted, and publish- 
ing their reasons therefor in a letter to 
Governor Clinton. Lansing confirmed his 
opposition to the Federal constitution by 
working and voting against its ratifica- 
tion as a delegate to the convention meet- 
ing at Poughkeepsie, June 17, 1788. 

By an act of March 6, 1790, he was ap- 
pointed by the Legislature one of the 
commissioners on the part of New York 
to adjust the controversy of the State 
with Vermont ; and in the succeeding 
year, with Abraham Van Vechten and 
Robert Yates, became one of the commis- 
sioners to determine the claims of citi- 
zens of New York to lands situated in 
Vermont, ceded by New York at the set- 
tlement of the controversy and what por- 
tion of certain moneys ($30,000) each 
claimant should receive. Lansing was 
appointed an Associate Justice of the Su- 
preme Court by Governor Clinton, Feb- 
ruary 28, 1790. 

Although still an earnest Republican 
he was a man of sturdy independence and 
had betrayed something of restiveness at 
Clinton's domination, and this extending 
of the olive branch was generally re- 
garded as a shrewd political act. He had, 
indeed, been far more devoted to his pro- 
fession than to politics. Therein cen- 
tered his ambitions and to its principles 



326 



EXCYCLOPEDJA OF BIOGRAPHY 



as to its practice gave unwearied labor. 
His promotion to the bench was the rec- 
ognition of his worth, rather than the re- 
ward of political service that he might 
have rendered. He, at least, so regarded 
it and his judicial service was free from 
reproach in that regard. This view is 
confirmed by his appointment, February 
15, 1798, as Chief Justice, by Governor 
Jay, a strict Federalist, but an upright 
chief magistrate, and his elevation as 
Chancellor, the supreme judicial prefer- 
ment, October 25, 1801. 

In 1804 temptation to re-enter politics 
came to Chancellor Lansing in the proffer 
by influential members of his party to 
stand for the gubernatorial office. He 
hesitated to leave the bench to which he 
was attached and on which he had at- 
tained a brilliant reputation, constantly 
increasing, and to which his title held 
good for ten years longer, to obtain a 
place of brief tenure, however honorable ; 
he finally consented, upon representa- 
tions that he alone could unite the party, 
disturbed by factional feud ; but, later, he 
withdrew from the race for the reason, 
revealed by him years afterward, that the 
Clintons had sought to pledge him to a 
particular course of conduct in the ad- 
ministration of the government of the 
State : and Burr, secured from a Repub- 
lican legislative caucus the nomination 
and made, in order to recover his lost 
prestige, his desperate and disastrous can- 
vass against Morgan Lewis, presented 
by the Clintons and Livingstons. 

Lansing continued as Chancellor until 
October 25, 1814, when he was retired by 
age limitation, then constitutionally fixed 
at sixty years. As Chancellor he left a 
shining mark upon the record of equity 
jurisprudence in the State, following the 
path which Livingston had blazed, in 
making law, as well as construing, it. His 
fame is, however, traditional rather than 
fully substantiated, owing to the meager 



reporting of his times. Returning to the 
practice of the law he held no further 
official position excepting that of regent 
of the university, to which he was elected 
January 28, 1817, retaining it until his 
death ; and that of presidential elector in 
1824. On December 8, 1829, he visited 
the City of New York on business that 
detained him several days as a guest at 
the City Hotel. On the dark and stormy 
evening of December 12 he left the hotel 
to deposit an important letter to Albany 
in the mail box on board a steamer which 
was about to leave the city, and was 
never seen or heard from subsequently. 
He was. although in his seventy-sixth 
year, vigorous and active in mind and 
body. He remained to the last large and 
handsome in person, with remarkably 
fine features, dignified in bearing and fas- 
cinating as a conversationist The mys- 
tery of his "taking off" has never been 
disclosed. Undoubtedly he was mur- 
dered, according to Thurlow Weed, to 
whom the particulars of the crime and 
the motives inspiring it were confided ; 
but these were kept inviolate by him 
always. This Weed said : "While it is true 
that the parties are beyond the reach of 
human tril)unals and of jniblic opinion, yet 
others immediately associated with them, 
and sharing in the strong inducement 
which prompted the crime, survive, occu- 
]iying high position and enjoying public 
confidence. To these persons, should my 
proof be submitted, public attention 
would be iiievit;ihly drawn.'' I'he inti- 
mation is that facts involving title to a 
large property were possessed by Lans- 
ing and that by the sealing of his lips 
the heirs of the murderer would profit. 
The passing of the Chancellor created a 
profound sensation and was mourned sin- 
cerely by hundreds of his fellow citizens. 
He was the author of a small volume en- 
titled "Reports of Select Cases in Chan- 
cery and in the Supreme Court of the 
State of New York in 1824 and 1828." 



327 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



HOBART, John Sloss, 

Representative, Senator. 

John Sloss Hobart was born in Fair- 
field, Connecticut, May 6, 1738, son of the 
Rev. Noah and Ellen (Sloss) Hobart. and 
grandson of John and Esther (Burr) 
Sloss, of Fairfield, Connecticut. His 
father (1705- 1773) was graduated from 
Harvard in 1724. and was pastor of the 
Congregational church at Fairfield, Con- 
necticut, 1733-1773; his maternal grand- 
father, John Sloss, was a native of Scot- 
land ; and his paternal great-grandfather, 
the Rev. Peter Hobart, was born in Hing- 
ham, England, and came to America, 
where he helped to found Hingham, Mas- 
sachusetts, and was minister there. 1635- 
78. 

John Sloss Hobart was graduated from 
Yale in 1757, and studied law in Suffolk 
county, New York. He was a member 
of the New York "Stamp Act" Congress 
that met October 7, 1765 ; became a mem- 
ber of the Sons of Liberty in November, 
1765; was a deputy from Suffolk county 
to the First, Second, Third and Fourth 
Provincial Congresses of New York, 
1775-76, and when the last of these con- 
gresses, meeting just after July 4, 1776, 
assumed the name of Convention of Rep- 
resentatives of the State, he was a leader 
in their deliberations. He served on the 
committee which reported the resolutions 
approving the Declaration of Independ- 
ence ; on that .which was appointed to 
prepare and report a constitution ; on that 
which organized the Council of Safety 
(of which he was made a member), and 
on the committee of three, with Gouver- 
neur Morris and John Jay. for devising 
the first great seal of the State. In May, 
1777, although he had not been fully edu- 
cated as a lawyer, he was appointed one 
of the two Associate Judges of the newly 
organized Supreme Court of the State. In 
1780 he served as a member of an impor- 



tant convention at Hartford for the dis- 
cussion of the weaknesses of the confed- 
eration, and in 1788 was a member from 
the city and county of New York of the 
convention for the ratification of the 
United States constitution, and was an 
earnest advocate of that action. In 1791 
he inherited from his grandfather, John 
Sloss, a large property in Huntington, 
Long Island. On January 11, 1798, 1- 
was elected by the Legislature United 
States Senator to succeed General Philip 
Schuyler, resigned, and resigned his 
judgeship in February to take his scat 
in the Senate. He resigned from the Sen- 
ate May 5, 1798, to accept the appoint- 
ment as judge of the United States Dis- 
trict Court for New York, which office he 
held until his death. He received the de- 
gree of Doctor of Laws from Yale in 

1793- 

He was married, in 1764. to Mary 

Greenill. He died in New York City. 
February 5, 1805. 



WATSON, James, 

Senator. 

James Watson was born in New York 
City, April 6, 1750, son of John and 
Bethia (Tyler) Watson, grandson of 
John and Sarah (Steele) Watson, and a 
descendant of John Watson, who emi- 
grated from England, and settled in Hart- 
ford, Connecticut, in 1644, one of the pio- 
neers of that city. 

James Watson was graduated from 
Yale College, with the degree of Bachelor 
of Arts in 1776. and the degree of Master 
of Arts was conferred upon him, in 1779. 
Immediately after his graduation he was 
appointed lieutenant in Colonel Brad- 
ley's State regiment, in which he served 
until the end of the campaign around 
New York. He was made captain, Janu- 
ary I, 1777, but on account of a dis- 
agreement he resigned July 15, 1777. Re- 



328 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



moving to New York City after the war, 
James Watson became a successful mer- 
chant and prominent citizen. He was a 
Federalist, and a zealous champion of 
Hamilton. He was appointed naval offi- 
cer, in which capacity he served for some 
time. He was a member of the State 
Assembly, 1791 and 1794-96, serving as 
speaker in 1794; he was State Senator for 
two terms, 1796-98, and was elected in 
the latter year by the Federalist party as 
United States Senator, succeeding Wil- 
liam North, serving from December 11, 
1798, to March 19, 1801, when he retired. 
He then became United States Navy 
Agent for New York City, by appoint- 
ment from President Jefferson. It was 
largely under his auspices that the New 
England Society in New York was organ- 
ized, and he was a member of the Con- 
necticut and New York Cincinnati soci- 
eties. 

He died in New York City, May 15, 
1806. aged fifty-six years, after an active 
and useful career, honored and respected 
by all with whom he came in contact. 



NORTH. William, 

Army Officer, Legislator. 

William North was born in Fort Fred- 
erick, Pemaquid, Maine, in 1755, son of 
Captain John and Elizabeth (Pitson) 
North ; grandson of John North, and of 
James Pitson, of Boston, Massachusetts. 
John North, the immigrant, was a native 
of West Meath, Ireland, came to America 
in 1730, and settled in Pemaquid, Lincoln 
count}', Maine. Captain John North com- 
manded Fort Frederick and Fort St. 
George during the French and Indian 
war; was the first surveyor of lands in 
Pemaquid, and Judge of the Court of 
Common Pleas from the organization of 
Lincoln county, Maine, in 1760, until his 
death in 1763. 

William North removed with his 



m,other to Boston, Massachusetts, where 
he was educated and placed with a mer- 
chant until the closing of the port in 1774. 
He entered the Revolutionary army in 
1775, and was commissioned second lieu- 
tenant in Knox's regiment of Continental 
artillery, in which he served from May 
9, 1776, to January i, 1777. He was pro- 
moted to captain in Colonel Jackson's 
additional Continental regiment. May 10, 
1777, and led his company at the battle of 
Monmouth. April 22, 1779, he was trans- 
ferred to Spencer's regiment, which be- 
came the Sixteenth Massachusetts, July 
23, 1780, and was aide-de-camp to Baron 
Steuben from May, 1779, to November. 
1783, Steuben making him one of his sub- 
inspectors in introducing and perfecting 
his military system in the Continental 
army. He was promoted major of the 
Second United States Regiment, October 
20, 1780; transferred to the Ninth Massa- 
chusetts Regiment, January i, 1781 ; to 
the Fourth Massachusetts Regiment, Jan- 
uary I, 1783, and attended Baron Steu- 
ben in the Virginia campaign, and was 
present at the surrender of Cornwallis. 
He served as inspector of the army from 
A])ril 15, 1784, to June 25, 1788; was 
promoted major of the Second United 
States Regiment, October 20, 1786; ap- 
pointed adjutant-general of the United 
States army, with the rank of brigadier- 
general, July 19, 1798, and was honorably 
discharged from the service June 15, 1800. 
He settled in Duanesburg, New York. 
Politically he was a staunch Federalist ; 
he represented his district in the New 
York .Assembly in 1810 and served as 
speaker, and was appointed by Governor 
Jay, United States Senator to fill the 
vacancy caused by the resignation of 
John Sloss Hobart, May 5. 1798, serving 
from May 21, 1798, until the election, 
•August 17, 1798, of James Watson by 
the Legislature. He was appointed adju- 
tant-general of the United States army 



329 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



March 27, 1812, but declined to serve, merit to many people ; more than one hun- 

Baron Steuben bequeathed the larger dred houses were erected by Mr. Pratt, 

part of his property to him at his death, and an academy and several churches 

which he in turn divided among his mili- were established through his aid. From 

tary companions. He was one of the first 1826 to 1830 Prattsville stood at the head 

canal commissioners of New York, and of tanneries in the United States, and 

a member of the Society of the Cincin- after that certain establishments in Penn7 

nati. He was married, October 14, 1787, sylvania did a more extensive business, 

to Mary, daughter of James Duane, of Subsequently Mr. Pratt was partner in a 

New York City. He died in New York tannery of equal capacity, situated at 



City, January 3, 1836. 



PRATT. Zadock, 

Manufacturer, Inventor, Legialator. 

Zadock Pratt was born at Stephen- 
town, Rensselaer county. New York, Oc- 
tober 3, 1790, son of Zadock and Hannah 
(Pickett) Pratt, grandson of Zephaniah 
and Abigail Pratt, and of Benjamin Pick- 
ett, of New Milford, Connecticut, and a 
descendant of Lieutenant William Pratt, 
the immigrant, 1633. Zadock Pratt 
(father) was a tanner and shoemaker by 
trade, the owner of a small farm, and was 
a soldier in the Revolutionary War. 

Zadock Pratt aided his father in clear- 
ing and cultivating the farm, also assist- 
ing in the work of the tanyard, and in 
1810, while thus employed, invented a 
pump for raising liquid from the vats, 
which saved the labor of three men and 
came into general use in the tanning favored its reduction to five cents. He 
business. In that same vear he was was an advocate of the gratuitous distri- 



Samsonville, New York, and of ten 
similar establishments in difl:'erent parts 
of the State, which he was influential in 
establishing. In 1837 he received from 
the New York Institute the first silver 
medal ever awarded for hemlock sole 
leather. He retired from business in 1845 
and engaged in farming the following 
year. 

In 1823 he was elected colonel of the 
One Hundred and Sixteenth Regiment of 
New York, but resigned the office in 1826; 
he made his own saddle and bridle, which 
were elegantly ornamented with silver. 
He was a State Senator in 1830; a presi- 
dential elector in 1836 and 1852, and a 
Democratic representative from the 
Eighth New York District in the Twenty- 
fifth and Twenty-eighth Congresses, 1837- 
39 and 1843-45. He was an advocate of 
cheap postage, for which he introduced a 
resolution in Congress in 1838, and later 



apprenticed to a saddler, and three years 
later, in 181 3, began business on his 
own account as a saddler and harness- 
maker. In 1814 he joined the forces 
raised by (Governor Tompkins for the de- 
fense of New York. In the following 
year he formed a partnership with his 
brothers in the tanning bu.siness in Lex- 
ington, which was removed in 1824 to 
Schoharie Kill, Greene county, and this 
became the nucleus of the town of Pratts- 
ville. The Pratt brothers gave employ- 



bution of foreign seeds to the farmers of 
the United States ; submitted the plans 
and estimates for the new general post- 
office in Washington, which were adopt- 
ed ; voted for a telegraph line from Balti- 
more to Washington ; offered an amend- 
ment appropriating $10,000 to the bureau 
of topographical engineers to survey a 
route for a railroad to the Pacific ocean, 
and he offered a resolution for the dis- 
tribution throughout the country of en- 
gravings of patent devices, for the benefit 



330 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRArHY 



of mechanics and the stimulation of in- 
vention. He founded a bank at Pratts- 
ville in 1843, was several times its presi- 
dent, and was offered the presidency of 
two others in 1850. He was an extensive 
traveler, a lecturer, president of several 
industrial institutions and a liberal con- 
tributor to religious and charitable organ- 
izations. He was senior vestryman of 
the Episcopal church at Prattsville, and 
contributed liberally toward its support. 
Zadock Pratt married (first) October 
6, 1817, Beda Dickerman ; (second) Oc- 
tober 2, 1821, Esther Dickerman; (third) 
January 12, 1828, Abigail P.. daughter of 
Wheeler Watson, of South Kingston. 
Rhode Island; (fourth) March 16, 1835. 
Mary E. Watson. Zadock Pratt died at 
Bergen, New Jersey, .'\pril 6, 1871. 



PITCHER, Nathaniel. 

Governor. 

Nathaniel Pitcher was born in Litch- 
field, Connecticut, in 1777, but during 
his early life his parents removed to 
Sandy Hill, Washington county. New 
York, whither he accompanied them, and 
there he attended the district school, ac- 
quiring a practical education. Upon at- 
taining manhood, he took an active inter- 
est in public affairs, and was elected a 
member of the State Legislature in 1806, 
and by faithfully and conscientiously per- 
forming the duties thereof was re-elected 
in 1815, serving until 1817. He was also 
a member of the State Constitutional 
Convention, which was held in 1821. He 
was a staunch adherent of the principles 
of the Republican party, and was elected 
to Congress on that ticket, serving from 
1819 to 1822. In the State election of 
1826 he was what was known as a "Buck- 
tail," and was nominated by that party 
for Lieutenant-Governor on the ticket 
headed by William B. Rochester. He 



was a Jackson man, and opposed to De- 
Witt Clinton as a candidate for Governor. 
Mr. Clinton was elected Governor, and 
Mr. Pitcher Lieutenant-Governor, and 
upon the death of Governor Clinton, 
which occurred in 1828, Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor Pitcher became Governor, serving 
in that position from February, 1828, to 
January, 1829, his administration being 
noted for capability and efificienc3% and 
especially for the excellence of its ap- 
pointments, giving entire satisfaction to 
all concerned. In 1831 he was elected a 
member of Congress, and served in that 
capacity imtil 1833. He died at his home 
in Sandy Hill, New York, May 25, 1836. 
His death was viewed by his fellow citi- 
zens as a personal bereavement, while 
throughout the State there was a gen- 
eral expression of grief and regret on the 
part of the public. 



BAILEY, Theodorus, 

Senator, Early Postmaster of Netv Tork. 

Theodorus Bailey was born in Dutch- 
ess county. New York, October 12, 1758, 
a member of the same family to which 
belonged John Bailey, the first man to 
hoist the Revolutionary flag in New York. 

He was reared to manhood in his native 
State, and obtained a good education by 
attendance at the district schools. In 
1792 he was elected to represent New 
York State in Congress, and was re- 
elected in 1794, serving to 1797. In 1799 
he was again elected, and remained a 
member of the National House of Repre- 
sentatives during two Congresses, up to 
1803, in which year he was elected to the 
United States Senate, taking his seat. 
March 4, but resigned in 1804 to become 
postma.'.ter of New York City, which re- 
sponsible office he held until his death, 
which occurred in New York City, Sep- 
tember 6, 1828. 



331 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



PINTARD, John. 

Antiquarian, Philanthropist. 

John Pintard was born in New York 
City, May i8, 1759, son of John and Mary 
(Cannon) Pintard, grandson of John and 
Catherine (Carre) Pintard and of John 
Cannon, and great-grandson of Anthony 
Pintard. a member of a French Hugue- 
not famil}', which cam,e to this country 
on the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, 
and he settled at Shrewsbury in 1786, 
where he was a merchant and justice of 
the peace. Both his grandfathers were 
prominent merchants. 

John Pintard was left an orphan in his 
infancy, and he was adopted by an uncle, 
Louis Pintard, a New York merchant, 
who was one of the incorporators of the 
New York Chamber of Commerce. He 
was prepared for college at the Hemp- 
stead (Long Island) grammar school, and 
then entered Princeton College, from 
which he received the degree of Bachelor 
of Arts in 1776, and that of Master of 
Arts in 1779. He volunteered for service 
in the Revolution in 1776, entering the 
army at the time of the British occupa- 
tion of New York City, and after taking 
part in several military expeditions he be- 
came deputy commissary for American 
prisoners under his uncle, who was com- 
missary in New York, and during this 
time, it is said, became convinced of the 
importance of preserving printed and 
written records of public events. He 
served in the capacity before mentioned 
until 1781, and in the following year be- 
came a clerk in his uncle's counting room. 
He was for some time employed under 
the government as a translator of the 
French. Having inherited a fortune from 
his mother, in 1785 he engaged in the 
East India trade on his own account and 
became a successful merchant. He re- 
moved to Paramus. New Jersey, prior to 
engaging in the East India trade, and 



became locally prominent, being elected 
alderman in 1789, representing the city in 
the State Assembly in 1790, and in 1791 
he was a commissioner to erect bridges 
over the Hackensack and Passaic rivers, 
and also to survey the country between 
Jersey City and Newark. In 1789 he at- 
tempted to interest prominent citizens of 
Boston in the establishment of an Amer- 
ican antiquarian society, his eiTort result- 
ing two years later in the formation of 
the Massachusetts Historical Society. In 

1 791 he established a museum in connec- 
tion with the Tammany Society, origi- 
nally a historical and antiquarian organi- 
zation, of which he was the founder and 
first sachem, and which formed the nu- 
cleus of Barnum's American Museum. In 

1792 he lost his entire property by in- 
dorsing for William Duer, son-in-law of 
Lord Stirling, associated with Hamilton 
in the plan to fund the national debt, and 
removed to Newark, New Jersey, where 
he was confined for a time in jail 
for Duer's debts. He resided in New- 
ark until 1800, when he removed to 
New York City and engaged in the 
book trade and book auction business, 
and later was editor of the "Daily Adver- 
tiser." In the winter of 1801 he went to 
New Orleans, Louisiana, where he ac- 
quired a knowledge of the resources of 
the province that was of great service 
to the United States government. He 
then returned to New York City, where 
he was clerk to the corporation of 
that city; city inspector, 1804-09; sec- 
retary of the Mutual Insurance Com- 
pany, 1809-29, and a director of the same, 
1829-44. During the War of 1812 he was 
authorized by the city corporation to 
issue notes of fractional denominations to 
relieve the difficulties occasioned by the 
scarcity of change. He was secretary of 
the New York Chamber of Commerce, 
1817-27; in 1819 originated the first sav- 
ings bank that was established in New 



3^2 










.-^-^:-v,:^Y--T, ^^y-c ^v:y 



^^ ./^ry^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



York City, and served as its president 
from 1823 to 1841, when he became blind, 
and resigned. He was the founder of the 
New York Historical Society, and served 
as its recording secretary and librarian ; 
was among the first to agitate the free 
school system ; was influential in securing 
the construction of the Erie canal : was a 
founder, secretary and vice-president of 
the American Bible Society ; was treas- 
urer of the Sailors' Snug Harbor, and 
the chief organizer of the General Theo- 
logical Seminary of the Protestant Epis- 
copal Church, which he was instrumental 
in removing to New York City from New 
Haven. Pintard Plall, one of the dormi- 
tories of the seminary, was erected in his 
honor in 1885. He received the degree of 
Doctor of Laws from, Allegheny College 
in 1822. From 1810 to 1844 he was a ves- 
tryman of the Huguenot Church, New 
York City, and translated the book of 
Common Prayer into French for its use. 
His i)ublished works include : "An Ac- 
count of New Orleans," in the "New 
York Medical Repository," and "Notice 
of Philip Freneau," in the "New York 
Mirror." He was a man of distin- 
guished appearance and active habits, 
had an unusual acquaintance with class- 
ical and modern literature, and a remark- 
able knowledge of public affairs. 

Mr. Pintard was married, November 
12, 1784, to Eliza, daughter of Colonel 
Abraham and Helena (Kortright) Brash- 
er, of Paramus, New Jersey. Mr. Pintard 
died in New York City, June 21, 1844. 



SEWARD, William Henry, 

Statesman, Diplomat. 

William Henry Seward was born in 
Florida, Orange county. New York, May 
16, 1801, son of Dr. Samuel Swezy and 
Mary (Jennings) Seward, grandson of 
Colonel John and Mary (Swezy) Seward, 
and of Isaac and Margaret Jennings, and 



a descendant of ancestors from Wales, of 
whom Obadiah Seward was the first to 
come to America, about 1650. 

He was prepared for college at Farm- 
er's Hall Academy, Goshen, New York, 
and matriculated at Union College, Sche- 
nectady, New York, in the class of 1820, 
but left in his junior year without the 
consent of his father, who had reproved 
him for alleged extravagance in college. 
He taught school in Georgia six months, 
and there, although treated kindly, im- 
bibed anti-slavery sentiments, which nat- 
urally influenced his subsequent political 
course. He returned to Union in the fall 
of 1819 and was graduated with the class 
of 1S20, with high honor, especially in 
rhetoric. He read law with John .\nthon 
in New York City, and with John Duer 
and Ogden HofTman in Goshen, and after 
his admission to the bar in 1822 became 
the law partner of Elijah Miller at Au- 
burn, New York. He was a National Re- 
publican in politics. He made the friend- 
ship of Thurlow Weed at Rochester, New 
York, in 1824. In 1825 he delivered a 
Fourth of July address at Auburn, which 
marked his place in the community as an 
orator, and he was appointed on the com- 
mittee to welcome Lafayette to that city 
in 1825. He spoke in behalf of the suf- 
fering Greeks in Feliruary, 1827, and 
through his efforts a large sum of money 
was collected in western New York for 
their aid. He was elected unanimously 
presiding officer over the convention of 
young men of the State held in Utica, Au- 
gust 12, 1827, where he advocated the 
claims of John Quincy Adams for renomi- 
nation, made a wonderful hit by his 
speech and was thenceforth the idol of 
the younger element of his party. He 
declined the Anti-Masonic nom,ination as 
candidate for Representative in the Twen- 
ty-first Congress in 1828. 

He was elected State Senator in 1830. 
and that \c;ir liccamc. uitli Thurlow 



333 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Weed, Francis Granger and Millard Fill- 
more, a leader of the Anti-Masonic party, 
which rapidly displaced the National Re- 
publican party as opponents to the Demo- 
crats in New York, and at the National 
Convention at Baltimore in September, 
1831, nominated William Wirt of Mary- 
land for President, and Amos Ellmaker 
of Pennsylvania for Vice-President, but 
in the election of 1832 these candidates 
received only the electoral votes of Ver- 
mont. In the Senate Mr. Seward led in 
opposing the national administration, and 
at the close of both sessions, drew up an 
address of the minority of the Legisla- 
ture to the people. At the opening of the 
second session of the State Senate in Jan- 
uary, 1832, he defended the United States 
Bank in a speech which at once placed 
him among the powerful opponents of 
President Jackson He followed this 
speech in 1834 with a denunciation of the 
removal of the government deposits from 
the bank, which extended his national 
reputation. He was the Whig candidate 
for Governor of New York in September, 
1834, but was defeated by William L. 
Marcy. In 1835 he made a carriage trip 
with his wife through Pennsylvania and 
Virginia to the Natural Bridge, Monti- 
cello and Fredericksburg, and back 
through Maryland and New Jersey to his 
home. In 1836 he took no prominent part 
in the political campaign, being absent 
from Auburn, having gone to Chautauqua 
county on legal business connected with 
a controversy between the Holland Land 
Company and its tenants. As a Whig he 
was elected Governor of New York in 
1838, and was inaugurated January i, 
1839; was re-elected in 1840, and closed 
his gubernatorial services January i, 
1843. He carried out his convictions on 
the subject of slavery by refusing the 
rendition of slaves found in the State 
without a trial by jury to determine their 
rights, and he obtained from the Legis- 



lature the passage of an act in which the 
State agreed to pay for counsel to defend 
the slaves. This action brought him in 
controversy with the Governors of both 
Virginia and Georgia, throughout which 
he evinced conspicuous courage. He also 
quieted the anti-rent troubles in the State ; 
obtained assistance for the amelioration 
of the condition of the insane, and better 
discipline in the prisons of the State ; se- 
cured public school laws by which equal 
privileges were given to the various re- 
ligious denominations in the matter of 
selecting teachers of the young, and pro- 
posed extended plans for enlarging the 
canal and railroad facilities in the State, 
and that by a liberal employment of the 
credit of the State as against the "pay as 
you go" policy of the Democracy, by the 
results of which he was amply vindi- 
cated. Although his legal practice was 
large, he gave his services freely for the 
defence of the poor. 

He was elected United States Senator 
in 1849, and became President Taylor's 
most trusted counsellor in the Senate. He 
opposed all compromise with slavery, and 
parted with President Fillmore on that 
issue. He was active in procuring the 
nomination of General Winfield Scott as 
Fillmore's successor in 1852, and was re- 
elected to the Senate in 1855. In 1856, 
when Weed advised him against aspiring 
to the presidency, he vigorously support- 
ed John C. Fremont. In 1857 he made a 
journey to Labrador on a fishing schoon- 
er, and traveled in Europe, Egypt and 
Palestine in 1859. In i860 he was the 
logical candidate of the Republican organ- 
ization for the presidential nomination, 
but the opposition of Horace Greeley and 
the undercurrent of doubt as to his avail- 
ability arising from his radical senatorial 
utterances cost him the honor. At the Re- 
publican National Convention at Chicago, 
May 16, his was the first name presented 
to the convention, and on the first ballot 



334 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



he received 173/4 votes against 102 for 
Abraham Lincoln. On Mr. Lincoln's 
election, Mr. Seward became Secretary of 
State in his cabinet, and assumed a con- 
servative position in reference to the 
questions that confronted the new ad- 
ministration. While he declined official 
intercourse with Hunter, Forsythe and 
Crawford, commissioners from the re- 
bellious States, March 12, 1861, he fav- 
ored the withdrawal of troops from Fort 
Sumter as a means of pacification, insist- 
ing, however, in fortifying and maintain- 
ing every fort and post that from its posi- 
tion presented a military advantage, in 
order to impress upon the foreign powers 
the stability of the United States govern- 
ment and its ability to put down a rebel- 
lion within its own borders. He depre- 
cated foreign intervention as an un- 
friendly act, and proposed the establishing 
of conventions to determine the rights of 
neutrals. When Congress determined to 
close the ports of the seceded States, he 
instructed the United States Minister at 
London as to the right of the government 
to take such a course. His surrender of 
Mason and Slidell to the British govern- 
ment after their unauthorized arrest and 
detention by a United States naval officer, 
brought upon him the condemnation of 
the radical wing of the Republican party, 
but his explanation of his act as consist- 
ent with the American doctrine of right 
of search quieted the opposition. He op- 
posed all efforts of mediation to be con- 
ducted by European governments, and, 
by the treaty with Great Britain for the 
extinction of the African slave trade, he 
gained the popular favor of the English 
people. His continuous and persistent 
efforts through able ministers and con- 
suls, strengthened by commissions of 
leading citizens competent to present the 
claims of the government and its ability 
to put down rebellion, prevented foreign 
interference ; and, when France under- 



took to gain a foothold on the American 
continent, contrary to the spirit of the 
Monroe doctrine, by establishing Mexico 
as an empire, Mr. Seward quietly avoided 
any irritating interference until the Civil 
War had closed, when he forcibly pre- 
sented the question at issue to the French 
government and the Mexican empire col- 
lapsed. Historically, he stands among 
the greatest diplomats the couniry has 
produced. 

In the summer of 1862. when the war 
had assumed a condition of uncertainty 
as to the issue. Secretary Seward held a 
conference with the governors of the 
northern States, and obtained their co- 
operation in an extraordinary effort to 
change the condition ; this conference re- 
sulted in the call by the President for 
300,000 additional men. His course in 
insisting on the rights of the United 
States to recompensation from the Brit- 
ish government for the destruction 
wrought upon the high seas by the "Ala- 
bama," sent out from a British port, led 
to the Geneva award of $15,500,000 as 
damages. 

On April 14, 1865, while an invalid 
from the effect of being thrown from his 
carriage, Mr. Seward was murderously 
assaulted by one of the conspirators 
against the President and cabinet, and his 
son, Frederick W., was desperately 
wounded in defending him. Secretary 
Seward's recovery was slow and his suf- 
fering intense. He was retained by Pres- 
ident Johnson as the head of his cabinet, 
and, by sustaining the reconstruction 
policy of the President, he carried out the 
avowed intention of President Lincoln, 
but displeased the radical wing of the 
Republican party and was subjected to 
much unfriendly criticism. He conclud- 
ed with Russia an arrangement for the 
purchase of Alaska, which was accom- 
plished by treaty on March 30, 1867. and 
an area of 580,000 square miles of Rus- 



3.^5 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



sian territory on the American continent 
passed to the United States by purchase 
for the sum of $7,200,000. In 1884 Alaska 
was organized as a district, with execu- 
tive officers appointed by the President, 
but without legislative institutions. Sec- 
retary Seward also negotiated for the pur- 
chase of the Danish West India Islands 
and the Bay of Samana, and made a treaty 
with the Republic of Colombia, South 
America, to secure to the United States 
control of the Isthmus of Panama, but 
an unfriendly Senate prevented the pur- 
chases and consummation of the treaty. 
He supported President Johnson in the 
efforts of the opposition to impeach and 
remove him from office in 1868, and fav- 
ored the election of General Grant to the 
presidency the same year. Upon the in- 
auguration of President Grant, March 4, 
1869, Mr. Seward turned over the Port- 
folio of State held by him for eight years 
to Elihu B. Washburn and returned to 
Auburn, New York, where he prepared 
for an extended journey across the conti- 
nent and along the Pacific coast. He vis- 
ited California, Oregon, Washington, 
British Columbia, and the newly acquired 
territory of Alaska, returning home 
through Mexico, where he was a guest 
of the government and people. The next 
year he made his remarkable tour of the 
world, and was received with the high- 
est honors by the governments of Asia, 
northern Africa and Europe, his record 
as a statesman making him welcome at 
foreign courts and giving him rare oppor- 
tunities to study the governments politi- 
cally and commercially, and the social 
and ethnological characteristics of the 
peoples. After reaching his home at Au- 
burn, October 9, 1871, he gave his time 
to preparing a narrative of his travels and 
a history of his life and times. He re- 
ceived the honorary degree of Doctor of 
Laws from Yale in 1854, from Union in 
1856, and from the University of North 



Carolina in 1867. The citizens of New 
York City erected a bronze statue by 
Randolph Rogers in Madison Square, and 
in 1888 the citizens of Auburn erected 
another by Walter G. Robinson in the 
public square of that city. 

His more notable speeches include: 
"Prospects of the United States," Syra- 
cuse, New York, July 4, 1831 ; "Eulogy on 
Lafayette," Auburn, New York, July 16, 
1834; "Elements of Empire in America," 
Union College, New York, 1843; "Free- 
dom of the Press," in libel suit Cooper vs. 
Greeley, 1845 ; "Eulogy on Daniel O'Con- 
nell, New York City, 1847; "Fugitive 
Slaves," defence of John Van Zandt, 
1847; "Eulogy on John Quincy Adams," 
Albany, New York, 1848; "The Higher 
Law," United States Senate, March 11, 
1850; "The Compromise Bill," United 
States Senate, July 2, 1850; "The Home- 
stead Law," United States Senate, Febru- 
ary, 185 1 ; "Freedom in Europe," United 
States Senate, March, 1852; "The Des- 
tiny of America," Columbus, Ohio, 1853; 
"The True Basis of American Independ- 
ence," New York City, 1853; "The Phy- 
sical, Moral and Intellectual Develop- 
ment of the American People," Yale Col- 
lege, 1854; "The Irrepressible Conflict," 
Rochester, New York, 1858 ; "State of the 
Union," United States Senate, January 
12, 1861. George E. Baker prepared an 
edition of "Seward's Works with His 
Earlier Speeches and Addresses, and a 
Memoir," (three volumes, 1853 ; volume 
iv., 1862; volum,e v., 1863; volume vi., 
with later speeches and diplomatic corre- 
spondence, 1888). His diplomatic corre- 
spondence was published in full by order 
of Congress. Charles Francis Adams 
published "Address on the Life, Charac- 
ter and Services of Seward" (1873) ''"^ 
Frederic Bancroft "Life of William H. 
Seward" (two volumes, 1900). Mr. Sew- 
ard is the author of: "Notes on New 
York;" introduction to "Natural History 



336 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of New York" (1842-54) ; "Defence ot 
William Freeman" (1846) ; "Oration on 
Death of John Quincy Adams" (1S48) ; 
"Life and Public Services of John Quincy 
Adams" (1849) ; "Speeches on Admission 
of California" (1850) ; "Seward's Travels 
Around the World," edited by Olive Ris- 
ley Seward (1873) J ^^'^ "Autobiog- 
raphy," which first extended to 1834 
(1871). This was brought down to 1846 
in a memoir by Frederick W. Seward, 
with selections from his letters (1877) 
and two volumes were added (1890). 

He married, October 20, 1824, F"rances 
Adeline, daughter of Elijah Miller; she 
died in W'ashington City, June 21, 1865. 
Mr. Seward died in Auburn, New York. 
October 10, 1872. 



DUDLEY, Charles Edward, 
Name Preserved in Dudley Observatory. 

Charles Edward Dudley was born at 
Johnson Hall, Eccles Hall, Staffordshire, 
England, May 23, 1780, son of Charles 
and Catherine (Cooke) Dudley. His 
father, born in 1737, died in 1790, served 
as royal collector of the customs for the 
port of Newport, Rhode Island, but his 
death occurred in London, England, 
whither he had returned ; his wife, who 
was the daughter of Robert and Anne 
Cooke, of Newport, Rhode Island, emi- 
grated to America four years after the 
death of her husband, and she was accom- 
panied by her son, Charles Edward; they 
took up their residence in Newport. 

Charles Edward Dudley first entered 
business as a clerk in a counting-room at 
Newport. Later he went to the East 
Indies as supercargo, and after his return 
settled in New York City, where he re- 
sided until 1802, when he removed to 
Albany, New York, and there spent the 
remainder of his days. He served as a 
member of the State Senate continuously 



from 1820 to 1825 ; was mayor of Albany 
from 1821 to 1828; was elected to the 
upper house of the National Legislature 
in 1828 on the Democratic ticket to fill the 
unexpired term of Martin Van Buren. 
who had resigned ; he took his seat in 
January, 1829, and served until the close 
of Mr. Van Buren's term, March 4, 1833. 
He was married to Blandina Bleecker, 
born in 1783, died in 1863, daughter of 
Rutger Bleecker, of New York. Sena- 
tor Dudley died in Albany, New York, 
January 23, 1841, and in 1856 his widow 
founded in his honor the Dudley Astro- 
nomical Observatory, located at Albany, 
thus commemorating her husband's fond- 
ness for this science. A fund of $75,000 
was donated by her at that time, and be- 
fore her death this was increased to 
$100,000. 



INMAN, Henry, 

Portrait Painter. 

Henry Inman was born in Utica, New 
York, October 20, 1801. His parents were 
natives of England and his older brother, 
William (1797-1874), was a commodore 
in the United States navy, and senior 
officer of his rank at the time of his death, 
and his younger brother. John (1805- 
1850), was a well known journalist. 

Henry Inman was appointed a cadet to 
the United States Military Academy, and 
was about to enter the academy in 1816, 
when he visited the studio of John Wes- 
ley Jarvis, and that painter induced him 
to study the art. After a seven years' 
apprenticeship he had reached his major- 
ity, and set up a studio of his own, in 
which he acquired renown as a painter 
of miniature and life-size portraits. His 
two early portraits that brought him fame 
were those of Chief Justice Marshall and 
Bishop White. In 1825 he joined the 
Association of Artists, and on the estab- 



N Y-Voi 1-22 



337 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



lishment of the National Academy of De- 
sign he was elected its vice-president, 
which office he held until he removed to 
Mount Holly, New Jersey, near Philadel- 
phia, Pennsylvania, in 1832. He returned 
to New York City in 1834, where he was 
so pressed with work that he was unable 
to fill his orders for portraits. In 1844 he 
accepted a commission from his friends 
in that city to visit England and paint 
portraits of Macaulay, Wordsworth, 
Chalmers and Lord Cottenham. This 
consumed one year, and gained him a 
host of friends in England, who offered 
him flattering inducements to make that 
country his home, hut he returned to 
New York in 1845. He introduced the 
art of lithography in the United States in 
1828, and was one of the early crayon 
portrait artists. His portrait of William 
Wordsworth is the property of the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania; his William 
Penn hangs in Independence Hall, Phil- 
adelphia, and his William H. Seward, 
DeWitt Clinton and Martin Van Buren 
are in the New York City Hall. He also 
painted from life William W'irt, Nich- 
olas Biddle, Horace Binney, Fitz Greene 
Halleck. John James Audubon, Bishops 
Moore, White and De Lancey, and many- 
prominent private citizens of New York. 
Besides his portraits he painted historical 
and genre subjects, including: The Boy- 
hood of Washington, Rip Van Winkle 
.\wakening from His Dream, Sterne's 
Maria, Mumble the Peg, Trout Fishing; 
and landscapes : Dismal Swamp, Ryda! 
Falls, England, and An October After- 
noon. At the time of his death he was 
commissioned by Congress to paint one 
of the panels of the rotunda of the capi- 
tol at Washington, and had outlined Dan- 
iel Boone in the woods of Kentucky. 

He had two sons — John O'Brien, who 
became a well known painter, and Henry, 
an author. He died in New York City. 
January 17, 1846. 



YATES. Robert. 

Jurist, Politician. 

Robert Yates, born in 1738 of a family 
many of which attained distinction in 
colonial or State councils, was conse- 
quential as a jurist and politician. He re- 
sided in Albany from early boyhood to 
his death. After being admitted to the 
bar, at which he gained an honorable 
place, his first public preferment was as 
an alderman of .A.lbany. In May, 1788, 
he, with James Duane, was appointed to 
superintend the manufacture of salt which 
Comfort Tyler and Asa Danforth — Onon- 
daga pioneers — had established at Salina. 
In 1785 he was a member of the Massa- 
chusetts boundary commission and in 
1790 was on the Vermont commission. 
Politically he was a Republican first, last 
and all the time. He was appointed an 
associate justice of the Supreme Court by 
an ordinance of the convention that 
framed the first constitution, May 8, 1777, 
and commissioned by the Council of Ap- 
pointment as the same October 17, 1777. 
serving until September 28, 1790, when 
he was elevated by Governor Jay to 
Chief Justice, vacating that office Febru- 
ary 15, 1798, by the constitutional limita- 
tion of age — sixty years. 

Upon the bench Justice Yates was 
widely esteemed for his im.partiality and 
independence, if not for vast legal lore. 
His ermine was spotless. Notably did he 
curb the intemperate zeal of patriotic 
juries by refusing to convict parties ac- 
cused of disloyalty without ample evi- 
dence to sustain the indictment, in one 
case sending back a jury four times to 
reconsider a verdict of guilty, unsus- 
tained, as he considered, by the evidence 
and defied a legislative threat of impeach- 
ment occasioned by his courageous sense 
of his duty ; and, as is said by another, 
"he could afford to be just, for, like 
George Clinton, he had early embraced 



;.^s 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the cause of the colony against the 
crown," and had been a writer of patriot 
essays and an active member of the Com- 
mittee of Safety. 

Justice Yates was a deputy to the first 
provincial congress, the second and the 
fourth — the last being the one which, re- 
solving itself into the "Convention of the 
Representatives of the State of New 
York," ordained the first State constitu- 
tion, and it was, as already indicated that 
by the Committee of Safety of that body, 
of which he was also a member, he re- 
ceived his call to the bench — a testimony 
of the regard in which he was held by his 
associates — an appointment confirmed by 
the State, when it was fully organized. 

Steadily and conscientiously perform- 
ing his judicial functions for the next dec- 
ade, he was appointed in 1787 a delegate 
to the national constitutional convention 
at Philadelphia with John Lansing, Jr., 
and Alexander Hamilton, and acted in 
accord with the former in refusing to sign 
the instrument framed and abruptly leav- 
ing the convention — the act for which he 
is better known historically than for any 
other incident of his life. In 1788 he was 
a delegate to the State convention at 
Poughkeepsie to pass upon the question 
of ratifying the federal constitution and, 
true to his original opinion concerning 
the integrity of the State, worked and 
voted against ratification, promoting, 
however, the proposition for the ten 
amendments to the constitution subse- 
quently incorporated therein ; but even 
before they became operative he declared 
his fealty to the organic law as ratified, 
independent of these, charging a grand 
jury that it would be little short of treason 
to the Republic to disobey it. "Let me 
exhort you, gentlemen," he said, "not only 
in your capacity as grand jurors, but in 
your more durable and equally respect- 
able character as citizens, to preserve in- 
violate this charter of our national rights 



and safety, a charter second only in dig- 
nity and importance to the Declaration of 
our Independence. 

In 1789 Justice Yates became a can- 
didate for Governor, under anomalous 
political conditions. Hamilton, who de- 
termined to make a fight against the re- 
election of Governor Clinton, also deter- 
m.ined that it would be impossible to suc- 
ceed with a purely Federalist nominee and 
found in Yates a man available for his 
purpose. There was no pretense that 
Yates had swerved from his political 
creed, but his charge to the grand jury 
had commended him to the Federalists, 
and there were intimations that he had 
become somewhat alienated from Clin- 
ton, whom hitherto he had followed im- 
plicitly. Hamilton thus put the case in 
a letter to friends in .-Mbany. after the 
decision had been made in Yates's favor: 
"It is certain that as a man and a judge 
he is generally esteemed. And, though 
his opposition to the new constitution 
was such as his friends cannot but dis- 
approve, yet, since the period of its adop- 
tion, his conduct has been tempered with 
a degree of moderation and seems to 
point him out as a man likely to com- 
pose the diiTerences of the State. Of this 
at least we feel confident, that he has no 
personal revenge to gratify, no opponents 
to oppress, no partisans to provide for, 
nor any personal purposes to be per- 
formed at the public expense." Hamilton 
hoped, of course, that, with the solid Fed- 
eralist support and sufficient Republican 
seceders from Clinton. Yates would tri- 
umph. Yates consented to the trial and 
the battle was on. The result was the 
closest call that Clinton had in his suc- 
cessive gubernatorial canvasses save that 
of 1792 against Jay, but he then won by 
technicalities rather than by ballots. The 
vote was Clinton, 6,391 ; Yates, 5,962. A 
meager majority of 429. In 1795 the 
Chief Justice was again a gubernatorial 



339 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



candidate — this time of the Republicans 
— but was defeated by Jay, the latter's 
majority being 1,589. Yates thereafter 
neither sought, nor seems to have desired, 
political preferment. He returned to the 
practice of the law, and died three years 
later, in 1801, at the age of sixtv-three. 



VAN VECHTEN, Abraham, 

Laviryer, Liegislator, Politician, 

Abraham Van Vechten, great lawyer 
and Federalist champion, was born of 
Dutch lineage, at Catskill, December 5, 
1762. He received his elementary school- 
ing at Esopus (Kingston) and his class- 
ical education at Kings, now Columbia, 
College. He studied law in the office of 
John Lansing, Jr., in Albany and begun 
practice in Johnstown, Montgomery coun- 
ty, but soon changed to Albany, there- 
after his residence. He married, May 24, 
1784, Catharine, daughter of Philip P. 
and Anna (Wendell) Schuyler, thus 
bringing himself into intimate associa- 
tion with that powerful family. The 
strength of the Albany bar, when Van 
Vechten joined it, was of superior char- 
acter; and in frequent attendance at its 
courts were such gifted advocates as 
Hamilton, Burr, Samuel Jones and others 
of like caliber. With the inspiration of 
his surroundings, Van Vechten soon 
ranked with the foremost gladiators in 
that famous legal arena. His intellect 
was formed to grapple with the most 
abstruse subjects of judicial investigation 
and, with the loftiest ambitions, he inured 
himself to the most intense application of 
his faculties to any issue in which he was 
enlisted. Withal there were the tall and 
erect form, the splendid presence, the mo- 
bile features, the flashing eyes, to further 
invigorate his masterful eloquence. Offi- 
cial recognition of his professional and 
intellectual capacity soon waited upon 



him. He was district attorney of the fifth 
judicial district, comprising the counties 
of Albany, Montgomery, Saratoga and 
Schoharie, from February 16, 1796, until 
February 16, 1797. He was elected, Janu- 
ary II, 1797, a regent of the university, 
continuing as such until February 15, 
1823. He was recorder of the city of 
Albany from 1797 until 1808. Governor 
Jay tendered him a seat on the bench of 
the Supreme Court, which he declined, 
preferring to practice his profession and 
to exercise his talents in the Legislature, 
to which, as will be seen, he was accred- 
ited for many years. He was appointed 
Attorney-General of the State, February 
2, 1810, being removed by a Republican 
Council of Appointment a year later, but 
was reinstated by a Federalist Council, 
February 13, 1813, succeeding Thomas 
Addis Emmet, serving two years, when 
he gave way to Martin Van Buren. 

Much might be specified concerning 
Van Vechten's legal career, official and 
personal. It is sufficient, however, here 
to generalize, adopting the tribute in the 
"Bi-Centennial History of Albany," page 
133: '"The lawyer and the student are 
often astonished at the vast number of 
our reported cases heard in the Supreme 
Court and Court for the Correction of 
Errors (Senate) in which Mr. Van Vech- 
ten represented one of the parties litigant. 
Over a half century his brilliant mind was 
constantly shedding its light over the 
jurisprudence of the State and Nation. 
The bar long delighted to accord to 
him its highest honors. To the younger 
members of the profession he greatly en- 
deared himself by his kind and courteous 
manners; and by all, he was venerated as 
an illustrious model of professional excel- 
lence. In his daily consultations with 
his clients he was emphatically a peace- 
maker. It was his constant habit to ad- 
vise the settlement of disputes without 



340 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



recourse to litigation, allowing no selfish 
interest to influence his advice or bias 
his mind in giving his opinions." 

Turning from the lawyer to the poli- 
tician — statesman is the better term to 
apply — Van Vechten is seen exhibiting 
all of the forensic skill and force which 
distinguished him at the bar with more 
of fortitude and aggressiveness as became 
the champion of principles, for he was 
the chief champion of Federalist policies 
in the State after the passing of Hamilton 
and the retirement of Jay. Indeed, his 
leadership was acknowledged even earlier, 
when he was appointed a presidential 
elector in 1796. It was in legislative halls, 
however, rather than through the machin- 
ery of party, with which he had little to 
do and for which he had less relish, that 
his primacy declared itself. He served 
therein long and faithfully. He entered 
public life when Federalism was at the 
zenith of glory ; he retired when it was at 
the nadir of despair. He began in the 
Senate in 1798, serving therein the ensu- 
ing eight years ; was in the Assembly 
from 1808 until 1814; and in 1816 was 
returned to the Senate for four years, 
totalling nineteen years of legislative 
labors. As a Federalist he did not favor 
the war with Great Britain and was not 
in entire accord with the measures of 
Governor Tompkins, although there is no 
evidence that he sympathized with the 
New England Federalists in their threats 
of a dissolution of the Union. He was 
especially pronounced in his hostility to 
the embargo act, contrasting, with all the 
fervor of his eloquence, the busy wharves 
of 1807 with the stagnation of 1809. He 
was also conspicuous in his opposition to 
the chartering of the State Bank at Al- 
bany, perhaps, more than for any other 
reason, that it would be a competitor of 
the Federalist Bank, already established 
in the same city. These, however, are 
but incidentals in hi.s consistent advocacy 



of Federalist principles as set forth in the 
State Constitution of 1777 and vindicated 
in the National Constitution of 1787, ac- 
cording to his interpretation. 

Van- Vechten made his last stand 
against the onslaught of Democracy in 
the Constitutional Convention of 1821, to 
which he was accredited with James 
Kent, Ambrose Spencer and Stephen Van 
Rensselaer as a delegate from Albany 
county. Of the delegations by counties 
those of Albany and Columbia — the lat- 
ter including in its roll William W. Van 
Ness and Elisha Williams — were the only 
ones that were solid in their resistance to 
the changes in the organic law which the 
Republicans, under the leadership of Van 
Buren, counselled and ordained. There is 
a strain of pathos that runs through the 
recital of the final catastrophe to the Fed- 
eralist party in New York, but an ex- 
ultant note of admiration as well at the 
tenacity with which its exponents clung 
to its tenets and the intrepidity they dis- 
played in their vain struggle to maintain 
them, and this whether one is or is not in 
accord with them in sentiment. They 
stood as bravely on the floor of the conven- 
tion as Leonidas at the fatal pass. That 
convention was, indeed, the Thermopylae 
of the Federalists. And in the contest 
none was more heroic, none more earnest 
in his convictions, nor clearer or more 
forceful in their expression, than Abra- 
ham Van Vechten. His was the clarion 
voice, ringing strong and true for the in- 
terests of his party and for what he con- 
ceived to be the orderly conduct of repre- 
sentative government. Thus he fought 
against an enlarged elective franchise, 
the abolition of property qualifications, 
the restriction of the appointive power 
and the revision of the judiciary system 
to the bitter end, and refused to sign 
the instrument which the Republicans 
("Bucktails") had formulated. 

He held no further office, save that in 



341 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



1828, he was an Adams presidential elec- 
tor. He continued in the active prac- 
tice of his profession nearly until his 
death. As a private citizen he was a 
model of excellence. He constantly dis- 
played in his intercourse with his neigh- 
bors and acquaintances the most amiable 
social qualities. To his other traits of 
character he was a sincere believer in the 
Christian religion and a venerated mem- 
ber of the Dutch Reformed church of Al- 
bany. In its judicatories, his counsels 
were received as eminently calculated to 
promote the peace and prosperity of the 
church. His unselfishness was a marked 
feature of his disposition and he enjoyed 
the unbounded confidence of all who were 
brought into intercourse with him. He 
died in Albany, January 6, 1837, having 
just completed the seventy-fourth year 
of his age. 



HARRIS, Hamilton, 

Laivyer, Legislator, Politieisn. 

Among recent practitioners at the Al- 
bany bar, always famous for its ability, 
none is more prominent than that of 
Hamilton Harris. His memory is still 
green, not alone for his legal eminence, 
but also for his skill as a politician and 
his service as a legislator. 

He was born at Preble. Cortland 
county. Ma}' i, 1820, the son of Frederick 
Waterman, of English, and Lucy (Ham- 
ilton) Harris, of Scotch, lineage, and the 
younger brother by eighteen years of the 
distinguished jurist and statesman, Ira 
Harris. His father, an extensive Cort- 
land landowner, was amply able to aflford 
his sons the advantages of a liberal edu- 
cation. Hamilton's preliminary tuition 
was had in the common school of his 
native town, his secondary at the Homer 
and Albany academies. He was gradu- 
ated in 1841 from Union College, where 
his elder brother had preceded him, with 



high reputation in the classics and ora- 
tory. Determining upon the law as a pro- 
fession he entered naturally the office of 
Judge Harris, in Albany, where he pur- 
sued his studies diligently and was ad- 
mitted to the bar in 1845, ^t which he 
soon evidenced his learning, acuteness 
and strength, both in the industry with 
which he prepared and the success that 
attended the conduct of his cases. He 
practiced his profession in Albany for 
more than half a century with various 
associations. In 1848 he became a part- 
ner with Hooper C. Van Voorst, after- 
ward a Judge of the Common Pleas of 
New York City. This relation was dis- 
solved in 1853 by the removal of Judge 
Van Voorst. Subsequently he united 
with Samuel G. Courtney, a son-in-law of 
Daniel S. Dickinson, of especially bril- 
liant parts and for several years United 
States District Attorney for the Southern 
District. In 1857 Harris formed a part- 
nership with Clarke B. Cochrane and 
John H. Reynolds, which is still known 
as one of the strongest legal firms ever 
at the capital. During this connection 
both Cochrane and Reynolds became rep- 
resentatives in Congress. It ended with 
Cochrane's death in 1867, but Harris and 
Reynolds remained together until the lat- 
ter's death in 1875. William P. Rudd, 
now a Justice of the Supreme Court, and 
Hamilton's son, Frederick, were later 
associated with him. 

In the autumn of 1853 Hamilton Harris 
was elected district attorney of Albany 
county, serving for the term of three 
years. Although but thirty-three years 
old when he assumed this important 
office, he tried a number of memorable 
cases. Among those of far more than 
local repute was that of the People vs. 
Hendrickson, indicted for the murder of 
his wife, argued by the district attorney 
in the Court of Appeals, a writ of error 
having been granted after conviction ob- 



34^ 




HAMILTON HARRIS 



EN'CYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



tained by Harris's predecessor, the court 
of last resort sustaining the verdict. John 
K. Porter, a very eminent advocate, ap- 
peared for the appellant. Another case 
was that of McCann. again a wife mur- 
derer, in which the defense pleaded in- 
sanity (deliriuin tremens), twice tried, 
with conviction in the first instance, dis- 
agreement of the jury in the second, and 
the criminal finally pleading guilty of 
manslaughter in the first degree and 
being sentenced to State prison for life — 
a case remarkable for the intimate knowl- 
edge of mental disorders revealed by 
Harris, showing him to be an accom- 
plished alienist. Still other important 
murder cases were those of Phelps, Mc- 
Crossen, Donnigan and Cummings, in 
which he was successful against some of 
the ablest lawyers of the day. There 
seems to have been a deluge of murder-^ 
during his term. It were certainly diffi- 
cult to cite another term of an up-State 
prosecuting attorney in which so much 
work was done and done so well as that 
of Harris. One criminal cause, in which 
he enlisted for the defense, after retiring 
as district attorney, and obtained ulti- 
mately the discharge of his client, was 
that of Reiman, charged as an accessory 
to the murder of Emil Hartung by his 
wife, is also one of the causes cclcbrcs in 
the criminal annals of the land. As Har- 
ris advanced in his profession he devoted 
himself exclusively to civil business, en- 
joying throughout an extensive and lucra- 
tive clientage. The Albany "Argus" of 
May ID, 1885, in commenting upon an 
important railway case then being tried 
in the Circuit Court, speaks of him as 
follows. It may well serve as a descrip- 
tion generally applicable to his uniform 
bearing in court : 

No man could study a ca.se harder than does 
Hamilton Harris. He masters every detail of 
fact, knows exactly what his witnesses will 
testify to, and as for the law, long experience 



in this class of cases has made him, so to speak, 
an encyclopedia of railroad decisions. Hamilton 
Harris's manner in court is quiet and highly 
dignified. He pays close attention to the con- 
duct of the case. His voice is strong and harsh 
to one unaccustomed to hoar him speak, and 
his style of delivery is plain, but earnest and 
effective. His manner is blunt, gruff and, to a 
certain extent, dictatorial; but no juryman ever 
sat in a box and listened to him through a case 
without feeling that, back of his manner, was 
not only great power of mind, but an honest, 
kindly heart. Few lawyers conduct a case with 
so much earnestness. When you hear nim 
speak, you feel immediately that he is in earnest. 
This quality and his shrewdness and policy make 
him one of the most successful lawyers that ever 
defended a corporation. 

.\s a politician Harris was especially 
persuasive in and useftil to the party with 
which he was identified — wise in counsel 
and adept in management. He early be- 
came prominent as a Whig both with 
voice and pen. As such he was elected to 
the Assembly of 1851, the measures which 
he was notably influential in furthering 
being the building of the State Library 
and the improvement of the old capitol. 
He joined the Repulilicaii party at its in- 
ception, in 1854, and soon became one of 
its trusted leaders. From 1862 until 1870 
he was continuously a member of the Re- 
publican State Committee ; from 1862 
until 1864, chairman of its executive com- 
mittee ; and from 1864 until 1870, chair- 
man of the body, as such evincing con- 
summate executive capacity, keen in his 
intuitions, rarely skillful as an organizer, 
with a union of discretion and boldness 
which bespoke him as a horn leader of 
his fellows. He was elected. May 3, 1S66, 
a member of the first board of commis- 
sioners of the new capitol, and of the sec- 
ond. April 26, 1871, serving throughout 
as president and delivering the intro- 
ductory address on the occasion of the 
laying of the cornerstone, June 24, 1871. 
Without invidious reflection upon his 
associates in the board, he is generally 



34.-? 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



esteemed as the most efficient prosecutor 
of the great undertaking. He has been 
termed its father, as DeWitt Clinton is 
so styled in relation to the construction 
of the Erie canal. 

In the fall of 1875 he was elected to the 
State Senate and was reelected in 1877. 
The executive branch of the government 
was, during his tenure, in Democratic 
hands, but the Legislature remained in 
Republican control, thus imposing upon 
its leaders grave responsibilities concern- 
ing both political and State aflfairs. And 
unquestionably Senator Harris was one 
of these leaders. As chairman of the 
finance committee he sedulously regarded 
the weal of the State, and as head of the 
select committee on apportionment as 
sedulously protected the interests of his 
party. Among his notable speeches are 
those on "The New Capitol," "Convict 
Labor," "Higher Education," "Sectarian 
Appropriations" and "Taxation." In 1879. 
although persistently urged to stand for 
a third term, he declined in conformity 
with a resolution to definitely abandon 
public life and devote himself solely to 
his profession. In 1885 he was chosen, 
with the Hon. Daniel Beach, a regent of 
the university — a non-political life office 
— continuing as such until his death. He 
had especially commended himself to the 
friends of higher education for all classes 
in his powerful speech in its behalf in 
rejjly to the recommendation of Governor 
Robinson to the contrary in his annual 
message. 

It is a current criticism upon the legal 
profession that few of its members are 
men of high literary culture. This cer- 
tainly does not apply to Hamilton Harris. 
His knowledge was broad, his literary 
tastes refined, and his pen illuminated 
many subjects of scholarly, historical and 
political import. He was frequently so- 
licited for public addresses. Among many 
I if these which mav be mentioned are 



"Politics and Literature," "The Tower 
of London," "No Royal Road to Knowl- 
edge," and his tenderly beautiful tributes 
to the m,emory of Lyman Tremain and 
President Garfield. His library was large 
and well selected, and he spent much time 
in communion with it. Senator Har- 
ris' private life was unsullied. In 1850 
he married, in Buffalo, Lucy Moody, 
daughter of Nathaniel Rogers, and at his 
death left surviving a son, Frederick, and 
a daughter, Lucy Hamilton Harris. He 
died in Albany, December 14, 1900. 



HUNT, Washington, 

Comptroller, GoTcrnor. 

Washington Hunt, Governor of New 
York, was born in Windham, Greene 
county, August 5, 181 1, son of Sanford 
and Fanny (Rose) Hunt, who removed 
in 1818 to Portage, New York. Having 
received only the ordinary common 
school education, but being ambitious 
and determined to follow a profession he 
began to study law at an early age, in 
1829, when only eighteen years old, and 
was admitted to the bar in 1834, at the 
age of twenty-three. 

He settled in Lockport, where he en- 
gaged in the active practice of his pro- 
fession for two years, and he was then 
appointed Judge of Niagara county in 
1836, serving until 1841. He interested 
himself actively in politics, being a mem- 
ber of the Whig party, and in 1842 was 
elected to Congress, serving continuously 
from 1843 ii'it'l 1849, '" t^lic Twenty- 
eighth, Twenty-ninth and Thirtieth Con- 
gresses ; was not conspicuous on the floor 
— a business man rather than a rhetori- 
cian — ^but was able and efficient in com- 
mittee labors, being, in the last Congress, 
chairman of a leading committee, that of 
commerce. He declined being a candi- 
date for a fourth term. His financial 
capacity, as well as his political serv- 



3-14 




^lia.'i/irjKf/cH ./(ff/i/ 



GOVERNOR. 1851-52 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ice and personal popularity, commended 
him for the State Comptrollership, to 
which he was appointed February 17, 
1S49, to fill the vacancy caused by Fill- 
more's election as Vice-President. In 
the fall of the same year he was 
elected Comptroller, leading his ticket 
by nearly six thousand votes. As Comp- 
troller he was faithful to his trust and 
gracious in his bearing. His tenure 
was but for a single year, for in 1850 he 
was elected Governor of the State by a 
majority of 262 over Horatio Seymour in 
a total poll of 428,966, being defeated by 
Seymour two years later. 

Governor Hunt's administration ran in 
peaceful channels, save for a serious out- 
break on the part of the Democratic 
minority in the Senate session of 185 1 — 
a notable event in political annals. The 
Assembly, pursuant to the recommenda- 
tion of the Governor, passed a bill author- 
izing a loan of one million dollars for the 
immediate enlargement of the Erie canal. 
The Democrats, doubting its constitu- 
tionality, and true to their traditional 
policy, vigorously opposed it in the Sen- 
ate, while the Whigs as earnestly pressed 
and were about to pass it, when all the 
Democratic senators, except two, resorted 
to the revolutionary proceeding of resign- 
ing their seats to break a quorum. The 
Governor at once called an extra session 
and ordered an election to fill the vacan- 
cies and six of the eleven seceders were 
beaten at the polls, leaving the field clear 
for the enactment of the proposed canal 
legislation. Impartial history severely 
condemns the action of the Democratic 
Senators on the ground that they had 
been elected to represent the interests of 
their constituents and not to abandon 
their trust petulantly in the presence of 
a real or fancied wrong about to be perpe- 
trated ; and the Governor was amply vin- 
dicated by the people when the issue was 
presented to them, although the Court of 



.\ppeals subsequently held the act to be 
unconstitutional. 

(jovernor Hunt did not again hold an 
elective ofiice, settling on his farm in the 
vicinity of Lockport, although still inter- 
ested in political alYairs. In the factional 
division of the Whig party he identified 
himself with the "Silver-(jray" element, 
cordially sustained his friend, President 
Fillmore, in the compromise measures of 
1850 and supported him for the presi- 
dency in 1856 as an "American." He was 
temporary chairman of the last Whig Na- 
tional Convention in 1852, and was presi- 
dent of the Constitutional Union Conven- 
tion at Richmond in June, i860, that 
nominated Bell and Everett, himself de- 
clining to be named for the vice-presi- 
dency, but was most influential in fus- 
ing the Douglas and Bell electoral tickets 
in New York by which two Bell candi- 
dates were placed thereon. He opposed 
the reelection of Lincoln in 1864, and 
was a delegate to the National Union 
Convention in 1866. His later political 
course, in striking contrast with his 
earlier, occasioned the severe criticism of 
the Republican press, but his conscien- 
tiousness was never assailed successfully. 
In private life he was exceptionally ami- 
able and beloved, and in business affairs 
upright and honorable. He was a promi- 
nent lay delegate to the convention of the 
Protestant Episcopal church and was 
well known in religious circles through- 
out the State. He received the degree of 
Doctor of Laws from the University of 
Rochester in 1851. Governor Hunt died 
in New York City, February 2, 1867, aged 
fifty-six years. 



HARISON, Francis, 

Jurist, Scholar. 

Francis Harison (never spelled with 
two rs), Queen's Counsel, and direct de- 
scendant of Richard Harison, Lord of 



.^.•^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Hurst, and the grandfather of Richard, 
the proprietor of the township of Malone, 
came to New York in 1708 with Lord 
Lovelace, the then recently appointed 
Governor of the province, and two years 
later was sherifT, afterward becoming a 
Judge of the Admiralty Court and also 
recorder. The Harisons were thus one of 
the earliest English families in New York, 
and the descendants are disposed to em- 
phasize the fact that they are in no way 
related to the Round Head General Har- 
rison, but are of cavalier ancestry. 

The Malone Richard Harison was born 
in New York in 1747, and at the age of 
thirteen entered King's College (now Co- 
lumbia University), in a class of which 
he and John Jay, the em.inent jurist and 
statesman, twice Governor of New York, 
were the only graduates. The two re- 
mained friends and associates through- 
out their lives. Mr. Harison studied law 
after graduation from college, and was 
admitted to the bar as soon as he attained 
his majority. Almost immediately he 
won success and distinction, which not 
only placed him in the front rank in his 
profession, but brought him wealth also. 
He was at one time the law partner of 
Alexander Hamilton. In a work by the 
then president of Columbia College in 
1847, he is named with Mr. Hamilton, 
Aaron Burr, Brockholst Livingston and 
two or three others as having given to 
the bar of his time an eminence of char- 
acter and talent that compared favorably 
with the high standing of the bench, and 
as one of "its brightest ornaments," to 
which was added: "Richard Harison was 
the most accomplished scholar of the 
group," and "he was, moreover, a sound 
lawyer." Historians generally of New 
York City, covering the period of Mr. 
Harison's activities, refer to him as "that 
great lawyer" or that "great man." He 
succeeded James Kent as recorder, "and 
his refinement and urbanity were as con- 



spicuous on the bench as in private life." 
As bearing upon his scholarship, it is told 
that, naturally a student, he was a thor- 
ough master of Greek, Latin and French, 
and a reader of widest range ; even after 
reaching his seventy-second year he took 
up the study of Hebrew and mastered 
that language. Besides having been re- 
corder of New York he was secretary of 
the board of regents of the University of 
New York from 1787 to 1790; member of 
Assembly in 1787 and 1789; a member 
with Hamilton, Jay and others in 1788 
of the convention which adopted the Fed- 
eral Constitution; and from 1789 to 1801 
United States Attorney for the District 
of New York. Through the kindness of 
his great-grandson, William Beverly 
Harison, the writer has been privileged 
to have before him as he writes a photo- 
graphic copy of his commission as United 
States Attorney, signed by George Wash- 
ington, and also a photographic copy of 
a personal letter from President Wash- 
ington transmitting the commission, from 
which I quote : "The high importance of 
the judicial system in our national gov- 
ernment makes it an indis]H'nsable duty 
to select such characters to till the several 
offices in it as would discharge their re- 
spective duties with honor to themselves 
and advantage to the country." 

Mr. Harison was nominated to the Sen- 
ate by President Washington to be Judge 
of the United States District Court, but 
declined the office. He died in New York, 
December 7, 1829. 



DAVIS. Henry, 

Clergyman, Educator. 

The Rev. Henry Davis, D. D.,a profound 
scholar and most efficient educator, was 
born September 15, 1771, at Easthamp- 
ton. Long Island, New York, son of John 
and Mary (Conkling) Davis; the father 
was a farmer, tanner and shoemaker. 



346 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



While Henry Davis was an infant, his 
parents removed to Stonington, Connec- 
ticut, afterward returning to Easthamp- 
ton, where he attended Clinton Academy, 
then recently established, and after pur- 
suing his studies for two years was en- 
gaged for a like period in teaching school 
in Brooklyn, New York. It was his orig- 
inal intention to become a physician, but 
later he determined upon the ministry, 
and after studying the classics in the 
academy he entered the sophomore class 
of Yale College in 1793, and graduated 
three years later, having made a most 
creditable record as a student. For two 
years he served as a tutor in Williams 
College, and receiving from it the degree 
of Master of Arts, thence going to Som- 
ers, Connecticut, where for some months 
he studied theology under the Rev. Dr. 
Charles Backus, and was afterward 
licensed to preach by the Tolland County 
Association. He was now made a tutor 
at Yale College, and soon afterward pro- 
fessor of divinity, upon the condition that 
if he did not consider himself well enough 
qualified for the latter position he should 
remain as tutor until he had made more 
thorough preparation. However, his 
health failed, he was unable to preach, 
and he relinquished both positions, and 
for some years sought recuperation in 
travel. In September, 1806, he became 
professor of Greek in Union College, but 
was yet unable to discharge pulpit duties. 
In 1809 he was elected president of Mid- 
dlebury College, and was regularly or- 
dained to the ministry, the Rev. Dr. .'\lex- 
ander Proudfit delivering the ordination 
sermon. In the following year Union 
College conferred upon him the Doctor 
of Divinity degree. In 1817 he was offered 
the presidency of two colleges— Hamil- 
ton, as successor to Rev. Dr. Azel Backus, 
and Yale, as successor to Rev. Dr. Timo- 
thy Dwight. Both these proffers he de- 
clined, preferring to remain with Middle- 



bury College on account of its peculiarly 
critical condition at that time. Later in 
the year, however, Hamilton College re- 
newed its appeal to him and he accepted 
its presidency, serving it until 1833, and 
through its most discouraging period, 
then resigning, but continuing to act as a 
trustee until 1847, and making his resi- 
dence in Clinton during the remainder of 
his life, giving much aid to educational 
and charitable causes, the Auburn Theo- 
logical Seminary and the American Board 
of Commissioners for Foreign Missions 
being particularly benefited by his earn- 
est interest. He wrote (1833) "A Narra- 
tive of the Embarrassments and Decline 
of Hamilton College," and also published 
numerous sermons and addresses. He 
married Hannah Phoenix, daughter of 
Judge Thomas Treadwell, who was prom 
inent in provincial councils and the Con- 
tinental Congress, and for many years a 
State Senator of New York. Their elder 
son. Henry, Jr., was graduated from Wil- 
liams College in 1824, was a promising 
lawyer in Syracuse, dying in 1844; their 
younger son. Thomas Treadwell, was 
graduated from, Hamilton in 1831, became 
a prominent member of the bar of Onon- 
daga county, and represented the Twenty- 
third District in the Thirty-eighth and 
Thirty-ninth congresses, dying in 1872. 
Dr. Davis died at Clinton, March 8, 1852, 
and is Iniried in the college cemetery. 



BRONSON, Greene C, 

Jurist. Politician. 

Greene C. Bronson, eminent as a jurist 
and influential as a politician, was born 
at Utica in 1789, beginning practice as a 
lawyer in his native city in 1815. His 
standing at the bar, combined with his 
political service, made him surrogate of 
Oneida county, April 13, 1819. In the fall 
of 1822 he was elected as a Clintonian to 
the Assembly, and was honored by being 



347 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



appointed chairman of the judiciary com- 
mittee. He became Attorney-General of 
the State, February 2"], 1829, removing to 
Albany, where he resided for the ensuing 
twenty years. He was commissioned a 
Justice of the Supreme Court, January 
12, 1836, and was promoted to the Chief 
Justiceship, March 3, 1843, resigning 
therefrom June 28, 1847. ^" '^53 ^^ was 
named by President Pierce Collector of 
the Port of New York, and made his 
home in that city for the remainder of his 
life. In 1854 he was the "Hard" (Con- 
servative) Democratic candidate for Gov- 
ernor. From 1859 until 1863 ^^ was cor- 
poration counsel of the City of New York, 
and at the close of the latter year retired 
to private life. Judge Bronson died in 
New York, .September 3, 1863. 

Judge Bronson made an admirable rec- 
ord on the bench. He was alike digni- 
fied in bearing and upright in conduct. 
His opinions, still commanding the re- 
spect and admiration of the student and 
practitioner, reveal an accurate and com- 
prehensive knowledge of the law, with 
thorough integrity of thought and felicity 
of expression, exact and searching. In 
politics Judge Bronson was of the Jef- 
fersonian school of Republicanism, and 
when that party, under the Democratic 
name, affiliated with it and was through- 
out its varying fortunes of the conserva- 
tive stripe, being especially prominent as 
a "Hard shell" in its later divisions, being, 
upon his removal as collector, the candi- 
date of that faction for Governor as 
already indicated. Its platform favored 
the repeal of the Missouri compromise, 
enunciated the doctrine of the non-inter- 
vention by Congress and the right of the 
territories to enact their local laws, in- 
cluding regulations relating to domestic 
servitude. It also approved the recently 
ratified canal amendment and strongly 
favored the prohibitive liquor law vetoed 
by Governor Seymour. Judge Bronson 



led a forlorn hope, or rather a force de- 
termined to defeat the reelection of Gov- 
ernor Seymour, the soft candidate. The 
vote was as follows: Clark (Whig and 
Prohibition), 156,804; Seymour, 156,195; 
Ullman (Know Nothing), 122,282; Bron- 
son, 33,850. An united Democracy would 
have won by a considerable plurality. Be- 
yond this Judge Bronson never obtained 
political office, perhaps not desiring it. 
He was, however, one of the New York 
commissioners chosen by the Legislature 
to the peace conference which met in 
Washington, February 4, 1861, and was 
of distinguished company, the other com- 
missioners being David Dudley Field, 
William Curtis Noyes, James S. Wads- 
worth, James C. Smith, Amaziah B. 
James, Erastus Corning, Francis Granger, 
William E. Dodge, John A. King and 
John E. Wool. Nothing came of this con- 
ference. The day of compromise had 
passed. The battle guns had been primed. 
Judge Bronson is uniformly described as 
a man of pure character, refined man- 
ners and amiable disposition. 



KING, Charles, 

Jonmalist. Educator. 

Dr. Charles King, who was president of 
Columbia (New York) College during a 
period marked by a broad development of 
that institution, was born in New York 
City, March 16, 1789, second son of Sena- 
tor Rufus and Mary (Alsop) King. 

With his brother, James Gore King, he 
attended the famous Harrow School in 
England for five years, while their father 
was United States Minister to Great 
Britain. Later Charles King spent some 
time in Paris, acquiring a colloquial 
knowledge of the French language, and 
then becoming a clerk in the banking 
house of Hope & Company, in Amster- 
dam,. Returning to the United States he 
entered the mercantile house of Archi- 



.348 




JOHN VAN BUREN 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



bald Gracie, and four years later becom- 
ing his son-in-law and business partner. 
He was elected to the New York Assem- 
bly in 1813, and although earnestly op- 
posed to the war with Great Britain, in 
1814, he entered the army as a volunteer, 
serving as colonel until the restoration of 
peace. He was in Europe in the interest 
of his firm for two years (181 5-17). In 
1823 the house was obliged to close its 
doors, and King purchased an interest in 
the New York "American," in associa- 
tion with Johnston Verplanck. Ver- 
planck retired in 1827 and King became 
sole proprietor and editor, and made nota- 
ble innovations in the conduct of the 
paper — refraining from the publication of 
ofifensive personal attacks and bitter par- 
tisan editorials and introducing a literary 
and review department — thus gaining the 
commendation and support of many of 
the foremost men of letters and states- 
men of the day. In 1847 "The American" 
was merged with the "Courier and En- 
quirer," of which King was editor for 
about a year, then retiring. He was not 
destined to long remain idle. In 1849 he 
was elected to succeed Nathaniel F. 
Moore in the presidency of Columbia Col- 
lege, and in which position he labored 
most efficiently for a period of fourteen 
years, closing in 1863 by his resignation 
on account of impaired health. During 
his administration the field of the institu- 
tion was notably broadened. In the sec- 
ond year of his presidency the college was 
removed from its old College Place loca- 
tion to the site west of Fifth avenue, be- 
tween Forty-ninth and Fiftieth streets. 
In 1857 a graduate school was opened 
under the tutorship of Professors Arnold 
Guyot and George P. Marsh, but which 
continued only a year. In 1858 the law 
school was established; in i860 the medi- 
cal school was reestablished, having been 
discontinued in 1810; and the school of 



mines was opened under Professor 
Thomas Egleston. Dr. King was a trus- 
tee of Columbia College, 1825-38, and 
from 1849 until his death. He received 
the Doctor of Laws degree from both 
Harvard University and the College of 
New Jersey. After his resignation from 
the college presidency he went abroad, 
and died in Frascati. Italy, in October, 
1867. 

He married, in 1810, Eliza, daughter of 
Archibald Gracie, of New York City; she 
died in Havana, leaving two sons and 
two daughters. He married (second) in 
1826. Flenrietta, daughter of Cornelius 
Low, by whom he had nine children. 



VAN BUREN, John, 

IjtLvryeT, Orator, Politician. 

John, son of Martin Van Buren, eighth 
president of the United States, was born 
February 18, 1810, in Hudson, where his 
father was then holding his first ofifice, 
that of surrogate of Columbia county. 
Having pursued his elementary and aca- 
demic courses in his native city, he enter- 
ed Yale College, in 1824, and was gradu- 
ated with high honor in 1828, at the age 
of eighteen, in the class with Nathaniel 
Parker Willis, poet and essayist, Thomas 
Gold Alvord, prominent in the politics of 
the state and others hardly less well 
known. It was a star class. He studied 
law in the office of Benjamin F. Butler in 
Albany, was admitted to the bar in 1830, 
and practiced in that city and in New 
York, the latter place being his long time 
residence. 

As he stands, at the opening of his bril- 
liant career, there are few historic figures 
more attractive or one with more auspi- 
cious circumstances attending it. Oppor- 
tiniity greeted him. Fame, love and for- 
time on his footsteps waited. Gracious 
gifts of mind and bodj' were lavished 



349 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



upon him — an impressive form and talents the life of Martin Van Buren, of "Prince 



bright and versatile — professional ambi- 
tion, scholarly culture and sparkling wit. 
His father, a great lawyer, with com- 
petent estate, the dictator of New York 
politics, had been Governor and was at 
the time Secretary of State in Jack- 
son's administration. The son had the 
father's influence and hosts of friends to 
advance him in the profession, for 
which he evinced singular aptitude, when 
the father, resigning his portfolio was, 
August I, 1 83 1, appointed envoy ex- 
traordinary and minister plenipotentiary 
to the Court of St. James and invited 
the son to accompany him as secre- 
tary of legation. There he staid about a 



John," as he walks the streets of New 
York arm-in-arm with the "Sage of Lin- 
denwald," in the early sixties, the son 
taller by several inches than the father 
then nearing his end, but still alert in 
bearing — a faithful portraiture of the 
twain who had been so near and dear to 
each other through the many years that 
had passed. 

Returning from London, when the 
elder Van Buren failed of comfirmation 
by the senate, "Prince John" applied him- 
self to his profession and rapidly rose to 
distinction therein, especially in the trial 
of cases, both civil and criminal — two 
of which, at least, are exceptionally cele- 



• ., • , ■ t ^u u brated — the prosecution of Freeman, the 

year, with signal service to the embassy '^ . ' . 

colored murderer, at Auburn, in which 



he secured a conviction, a medical com- 
mission subsequently determining that 
the brute was also a hopeless idiot ; and 
the long drawn-out Forrest divorce suit, 
in which he appeared as counsel for 
Mrs. Forrest and was eventually suc- 



and a social lion as well. Alexander (Vol. 
II, p. 128) draws this felicitous pen picture 
delineative of him at this time and sub- 
,sequently as well : 

John Vail Buren had, as well, a pictiirestiue 
side to his life. In college he was exfiert at 

billiards, the center of wit and the willing cessful. He gained high rank among the 
target of beauty. Out of college, from the time ^test lawyers of the land, often com- 

he danced with the Prmcess Victoria at a court ... .... 

, „ . T J » »i, < » . , . .u peting in the courts with such eminent 

ball in London at the age of twenty-two, to the * ^^ 

end of his interesting and eventful life, he was jurists as O'Conor, Evarts, Brady, Sew- 
known as "Prince John." His remarkable gifts ard, Noxon and Others that might be men- 
opened the door to all that was ultra as well as tioned throughout the State as well as 
noble. He led in the ball room, he presided at 
dinners, he graced every forum and he moved 
in the highest social circles. Men marvelled at 
his knowledge, at his unfailing equanimity and 
at his political strength; but even to those who 



in the metropolis. Daniel Lord, him- 
self one of these, said of Van Buren that 
"he possessed, beyond any man I ever 
knew, the power of eloquent, illustrative 

were spellbound by his eloquence or captivated amplification, united with close, flexible 

by his adroit, skillful conduct of a law suit he Ino-ic "' 

was always "Prince John." There was not a „, ,. „ ,11,^ 

, r . ■, • , 1 , I he younger Van Buren held but 

drop of austerity, or intolerance, or personal / , ^ 

hatred in him. The Dutch blood of his father, 0"^ political office— this in marked con- 
traced from the Princes of Orange to the days trast with the elder — and that in the line 
of the New Netherland patroons, kept him of his profession. He was named, by 
within the limits of moderation if not entirely Governor Silas Wright, Jr., attorney- 
unspotted and his finished manners attracted the , r .1 r-. , r- i_ r> 

, J 1 .u t, J .u general of the State, February -?, 184";, 

common people as readily as they charmed the - j ^ -r^' 

more exclusive. ''"^ '^^'"^ until January I, 1848, when 

he was succeeded by Ambrose L. Jor- 

There is another vivid pen sketch — that dan, elected under the operation of the 

with which Edward M. Shepard prefaces Constitution of 1846, Van Buren being 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the last appointive attorney-general. He 
was a most efficient law officer of the 
State. Had either himself or his father, 
for him, desired his political preferment, 
he would doubtless have received it — not, 
aided, at the hands of the President who 
was never amenable to the charge of 
nepotism and there is no intimation that 
the son ever sought it at the hands of 
political friends. John Van Buren's poli- 
tics, in the last analysis, seem to have been 
almost exclusively devoted to advancing 
the fortunes and vindicating the character 
of his sire. This is not to suggest that 
he was void of political principles, for he 
was, consistently with filial devotion, one 
of the most valiant and persuasive cham- 
pions of the Democratic creed, as he in- 
terpreted it, and ex necessitate at times, the 
exponent of a faction of his party. As 
a stump-orator he was well nigh peerless. 
At the moment, it occurs to the writer to 
note but two men in the country — "Tom" 
Corwin, of Ohio, and Sergeant S. Pren- 
tiss, of Mississippi, who might challenge 
comparison with him in this regard. His 
speech, deliberate and unimpassioned in 
tone, with unique sang-froid in mien, yet 
ranged the diapason of the emotions of 
his auditors. It was compact with logic 
and shotted with wit. It was accompanied 
by little of posture or gesture. It was, 
with seeming artlessness, consummate 
art, in this respect, suggesting comparison 
with the measured cadence of Wendell 
Phillips, prince of the American forum — 
the sharpest sting in calmest phrase. 
His forceful utterances, interspersed with 
flashes of sarcasm and sallies of mirth, 
often reaching superb heights of elo- 
quence, shattered opposition and con- 
strained consent. 

His greatest oratorical triumphs occur- 
red in the spirited presidential contest of 
1848. He entered the contest fully armed 
and equipped. He had been a Democrat 
of the JefTersonian school : as a youth he 



had campaigned for Jackson : he had as- 
sisted his father as he ascended step by 
step to the most exalted station ; had 
manfully defended that father's adminis- 
tion in the troublous times in which it was 
cast ; had compassed his renomination 
and grieved as his banner trailed in the 
dust in 1840; had seen a second renomi- 
nation strangled by the two-thirds rule 
in 1844: had sympathized with the in- 
creasing rebellion against exactions of the 
slavocracy ; and had been his father's 
chief lieutenant in the factional strife in 
which Martin Van Buren led the radical 
against the conservative forces in the 
Democratic party ; and the son himself 
marshaled the revolt of the "Barn burn- 
er" element in the State against the pre- 
ferment of Cass. At its convention in 
June, at Utica, the national Democratic 
ticket was repudiated formally and, after 
illuminating speeches by Benjamin F. 
Butler, Preston King and John Van Bur- 
en. voicing anti-slavery sentiments, Mar- 
tin Van Buren was again brought to the 
front as its candidate for the presidency. 
That nomination was ratified by the Free 
Soil Convention, in August, at Buffalo, 
and the battle was on, with the inspiring 
slogan of "Free Soil, Free Speech, Free 
Labor and Free Men." John Van Buren 
took the stump in a series of addresses 
celebrated for their aggressiveness and 
brilliancy, every gathering an ovation, 
every word a nail in the coffin of Lewis 
Cass. Whatever the motives, whether to 
avenge the wrongs done his sire or to 
urge the cause of freedom, John Van 
Buren's was the clarion voice of the can- 
vass, resulting in the election of General 
Taylor, the Whig candidate. The pivotal 
State cast the die, by virtue of the Van 
I'uren secession, as it had four years pre- 
viously by the Birney vote. 

Of John Van Buren, Henry Wilson 
says: "Indeed such was the brilliant 
record he then made that had he remain- 



351 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ed true to the principles he advocated, he 
would unquestionably have became one of 
the foremost men of the Republican party, 
if not its accepted leader." But he re- 
turned to the Democratic camp and, with 
his father and Tilden and Church and 
Richmond, Cochrane and Butler, hoping 
doubtless that it would right itself under 
Pierce, the reasoning for which is set 
forth in the sketch of Butler, who alone of 
this noteworthy group enlisted finally in 
the Republican ranks. Beyond this, 
"Prince John," still pursuing his profes- 
sion, appeared rarely in public assemblies, 
but privately supported Buchanan in 1856 
and Douglas in i860. His health, as the 
years advanced, declined and he died sud- 
denly at sea, October 13, 1866, returning 
from a sojourn in Europe for the benefit 
of his health. His father's death preced- 
ed his by about four years. 



TREMAIN, Lyman, 

Scholar, Lawyer, Orator. 

Lyman Tremain, scholar, lawyer, ora- 
tor — of fine caste as each — of Puritan 
lineage and New York environment, was 
born at Durham, Greene county, June 14, 
1819, the son of Levi and Mindwell (Ly- 
man) Tremain. The ancestor, in the 
maternal line, was an early colonist in 
Boston and, emigrating to Connecticut, 
became one of the founders of Hartford. 
The paternal grandfather was a soldier of 
the Revolution, participating honorably 
in many of its engagements. The father 
was a pioneer in Greene county, a farmer 
and business man of excellent repute, a 
lover of books and a scholar of no mean 
attainments who imbued his son with a 
desire for knowledge. Lyman obtained 
the rudiments of his education in the 
schools of his native town and pursued 
thoroughly the secondary courses in 
the well-known Kinderhook Academy. 
He studied law in Durham with John 



O'Brien, Esq., in New York with Sher- 
wood & White, was admitted to prac- 
tice in 1840 and immediately formed a 
partnership with his former preceptor 
O'Brien. Professional and political hon- 
ors soon awaited him. He was of the 
Democratic faith. At the age of twenty- 
two, he was elected supervisor of his 
town, which usually recorded a Whig 
majority. In 1844, he was appointed dis- 
trict-attorney of Greene county and in 
1847 was elected county judge and sur- 
rogate, serving as such for the ensuing 
four years. Meanwhile, his practice had 
increased largely and he frequently ap- 
peared before the Court of Appeals and 
the General Term of the Supreme Court 
at Albany, securing, among other things, 
an invitation to partnership with the 
eminent jurist Rufus W. Peckham, which 
he accepted upon his retirement from the 
bench and removed to Albany, thereafter 
his residence. This firm was dissolved in 
i860 by the election of the senior member 
as a justice of the Supreme Court. 

In 1857, Judge Tremain was nominated 
unanimously by the Democratic State 
Convention for attorney-general and was 
elected, serving a single term. It was in 
this office, perhaps, that he achieved his 
highest reputation as a lawyer, involving, 
as it did, several of the most important 
trials in the criminal annals of the State, 
among others that of "The People ?'.?. Mrs. 
Hartung," in which, against an able de- 
fense and much public sympathy with the 
accused, owing to her youth, beauty and 
modest demeanor, he secured a conviction 
of murder in the first degree — a verdict 
which was sustained by the General Term 
and re-affirmed by the Court of Appeals. 
While Judge Tremain was still attorney- 
general, he wrote, upon the request of 
the senate, an elaborate opinion, uphold- 
ing the validity of the act repealing the 
collection of certain railway tolls pre- 
viously imposed. His successor, the Hon. 



352 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Charles G. Myers disputed this, sent a 
communication to the Legislature main- 
taining that the Act was unconstitutional 
and brought, in behalf of the people, an 
action to recover back tolls from the rail- 
way company. Judge Tremain was em- 
ployed as senior counsel to defend the 
company and, at the circuit, obtained a 
non-suit, which was afifirmed at General 
Term and re-affirmed by the Court of 
Appeals. His arguments, at the various 
stages of the contention, were masterly 
vindications of the power of the Legisla- 
ture to pass the repeal. 

Thus, Lyman Tremain stood in iS6o, 
eminent as a lawyer and influential as 
a politician, adhering strenuously to the 
Democratic creed as conservatively inter- 
pretated, persisting to the last that the 
utmost concessions, within constitutional 
limitations, should be made to the slavoc- 
racy to avoid armed collision with the 
South ; but when the crucial blow was 
struck he at once, with Daniel S. Dickin- 
son and others of similar sentiment with 
his own, pledged his support to the nation- 
al government in a vigorous prosecution 
of the war for the Union and allied him- 
self with the Republicans as the constitut- 
ed agent to that end. His eloquent voice 
was heard in appeals for men and means, 
his own purse was at command of the 
public weal and, above all, he gave his 
first born, a bright and charming youth, 
as a sacrifice upon his country's altar. 
Honors fell thick and fast upon Judge 
Tremain in his new political relations. 
In 1862, he was nominated for Lieutenant- 
Governor upon the Republican ticket, 
headed by General James S. Wadsworth, 
but was defeated in the strenuous cam- 
paign, in which Horatio Seymour, as the 
successful candidate for Governor, was 
berated by his foes as a reactionist. Pro- 
fessionally, Tremain was retained b}' the 
government in the famous legal tender 
cases and signally aided in establishing 



the legal tender quality of the "Green- 
back" currency. In 1865, he was elected 
to the Assembly from Albany county and 
with cordial public approval was chosen 
its speaker. In 1S67, he attained still fur- 
ther legal distinction as the leading coun- 
sel for the people in the prosecution of 
General George W. Cole for the assassi- 
nation of L. Harris Hiscock, a delegate 
to the Constitutional Convention of that 
year. In 1871, he was of counsel in ex- 
posing the Tweed frauds in New York 
and in bringing that notorious malefactor 
to deserved justice. He also succeeded in 
saving Edward S. Stokes, the slayer of 
James Fisk, Jr., from the gallows and re- 
ducing his sentence to a four years' term 
in state prison. These are both celebrat- 
ed cases in criminal judicature and right- 
fully place Tremain high upon the roll of 
criminal lawyers. 

For years his activities were seriously 
embarrassed by recurrent attacks of in- 
flammatory rheumatism, causing acute 
agony and gradually undermining his 
constitution, but to which an unfailing 
courage rose superior, often enabling him 
to conduct important cases when most 
severely suffering. In 1872, he was elect- 
ed congressman at large and was assign- 
ed to second place on the judiciary com- 
mittee, a marked tribute of the esteem in 
which he, a first term representative, was 
held. His health, however, continued to 
decline and with years of invalidism pre- 
ceding, he died, after a distressing illness, 
in Albany, November 30, 1878. He had 
married, in August, 1842, Helen Cornwall, 
of Catskill, a woman of much personal 
worth and fascinating mien, by whom he 
had three sons and one daughter. His 
eldest son, Frederick, fell at the head of 
his regiment at Hatcher's Run, February 
6, 1865 ; the second, a fair and promising 
boy, was killed accidentally at the age 
of seven years ; and the youngest, Gren- 
ville, for a time his father's partner and 



N Y— Vol 1—23 



353 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



a lawyer of exceedingly brilliant attain- 
ments, nominated for attorney-general in 
1877, died suddenly, shortly before his 
father did. "In person, Judge Tremain 
was above the middle height, of strong, 
vigorous mould and dignilied presence. 
His face was uncommonly attractive, 
with large blue eyes, broad, open fore- 
head, mouth and teeth of great beauty 
and a smile unusually winning and cor- 
dial. In private life those who knew him 
best felt for him the sincerest affection. 
He was a model husband, father and 
friend ; his disposition was amiable and 
generous. During his long and at times 
distressing illness he governed himself 
with rare self-restraint. His unwearied, 
heroic patience, unfailing good humor and 
cheerful courage rendered attendance 
upon his needs a pleasure to all * * * 
Reflecting on his life, recalling its modest 
beginnings and its solid achievements, 
his fidelity to duty and his loyalty to 
principle, the soundness of his judgment 
and the just balance of his thoughts, the 
simplicity of his character and his win- 
ning personal traits : considering the 
range of offices well filled, his obligation 
to his clients well and honorably dis- 
charged ; reflecting on all this, do we not 
find the elements of a picture of what a 
man ought to be — the portraiture of the 
son, the husband and the parent, the stu- 
dent, the scholar, the lawyer, orator, 
patriot and Christian?"' — "Bi-Centennial 
History of Albany, p. 185." 



PROVOOST, Samuel, 

Prelate, Patriot. 

Samuel Provoost, distinguished alike 
for his patriotic ardor and his religious 
labors, the "patriot rector of Trinity 
Church and the first Protestant Episcopal 
bishop of New York, was born in the 
metropolis March 16, 1742. After gradu- 
ating from King's College (Columbia) in 



1 761, he matriculated at the University of 
Cambridge, England, and became a fellow 
commoner at St. Peter's House (now St. 
Peter's College). He was ordered deacon 
in the Chapter Royal of St. James Palace, 
Westminster, London, February i, 1766, 
by the bishop of London, Dr. Richard 
Terrick, and was advanced to the priest- 
hood March 25, of the same year, by the 
bishop of Chester, Dr. Edmund Keene. 
On his return to his native land he be- 
came one of the clergy of Trinity Church, 
New York, to the rectorship of which he 
was elected, on the evacuation of the city 
by the British, having rendered the pa- 
triot cause signal service during the occu- 
pation by the British troops. After the 
public exercises at the inauguration of 
Washington, the President, having taken 
the oath of office, proceeded on foot to St. 
Paul's Chapel (Trinity then being in 
ruins) where Provoost read prayers, 
using, without doubt, the form as pre- 
scribed in the "Proposed Book" then in 
use in New York. 

The doctorate of divinity was confer- 
red upon him by the University of Penn- 
sylvania in 1786. He was consecrated 
Bishop of New York, at Lambeth Palace 
Chapel, February 4, 1787, by the two 
archbishops and the bishops of Bath and 
Wells and Peterborough, at the same 
time with the Right-Reverend William 
White, bishop of Pennsylvania. Bishop 
Provoost's incumbency was marked by 
eloquence in the pulpit and by earnest 
labors for the rehabilitation of the church 
in the United States as independent of 
the mother church in England. He re- 
signed his see in 1801 ; but the House of 
Bishops declined to accept his resignation 
and authorized the consecration of a 
bishop coadjutor for New York. He after- 
ward only appeared in public at the con- 
secration on May 29, 181 1, of Bishops 
Hobart and Griswold. He died in New 
York. September 6, 1815. 



354 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Although a scholar of varied and ever 
profound attainments, Bishop Provoost 
published nothing of note. While at Cam- 
bridge, he prepared an index to the "His- 
toric Planctarum" of Raubin. "In his 
theological opinions he appears to have 
leaned toward the views of the celebrated 
Samuel Clark, D. D., although he refused 
the overtures made to him by the authori- 
ties of King's Chapel, Boston, on their 
lapse intoUnitarianism, for the ordination 
of their lay reader, Mr. James Freeman. 
Provoost's partisan antagonism to Sea- 
bury forms an interesting and unique 
chapter in the annals of the consolidation 
of the churches North and South." ("The 
Bishops of the American Church, Past 
and Present," by William Stevens Perry, 
Bishop of Iowa, page 9.) Buttre's 
engraving of Provoost, reproduced in 
Bishop Perry's work, shows him to have 
been of exceedingly regular features and 
placid expression. 



HOB ART, John Henry, 

Author, Prelate, Administrator. 

Among the prelates of the Protestant 
Episcopal communion of America, in its 
constructive period, John Henry Hobart, 
third bishop of New York, scholar, di- 
vine and administrator, is deservedly 
eminent. Of a family, distinguished in 
colonial annals, he was born in Philadel- 
phia, September 14, 1775, baptized and 
confirmed by Bishop White, prepared for 
college in the Episcopal Academy of his 
native city, and, after two years spent at 
the College of Philadelphia (now the Uni- 
versity of Pennsylvania), transferred to 
Princeton and was graduated from that 
institution in 1793. At first engaging in 
mercantile afifairs, he found them uncon- 
genial, and, in 1796, accepted a tutorship 
in Princeton, where he remained for two 
years. 

Having determined upon the ministry, 



he pursued his theological studies in Phil- 
adelphia, and was admitted to deacon's 
orders, June 3, 1798, in Christ Church. 
After serving various parishes in Penn- 
sylvania, New Jersey and New York, he 
was, in September, 1800, made an assis- 
tant minister of Trinity Church, then as 
always, the most important church in the 
diocese of New York. He had earlier 
(June 3, 1799) been elected secretary of 
the House of Bishops; and, in iSoi, was 
chosen secretary of the New York State 
Convention, as well as a deputy to the 
General Convention at Trenton, New 
Jersey. He was advanced to the priest- 
hood, April 5, 1801, by Bishop Provoost; 
was secretary of the House of Deputies in 
1804; and in 1806 received the degree of 
Doctor of Divinity from Union College. 
He was consecrated bishop coadjutor of 
New York in Trinity Church, May 29, 
181 1, by Bishops White, Provoost and 
Jarvis. On the decease of Bishop Moore 
in 1816, Hobart became the diocesan of 
New York and also rector of Trinity 
Church. His Episcopal duties were not 
confined to his own see. He rendered 
much and efficient service in New Jersey, 
prior to the election of John Croes, the 
first bishop of that diocese ; and was 
provisional bishop of Connecticut from 
1816 until 1819. He was one of the found- 
ers of the General Theological Seminary 
and, for years the professor of theol- 
ogy therein. He originated, or furthered, 
the Bible and Prayer Book Society, the 
Tract and Homily Society and similar 
organizations for the defense of church 
principles and instruction of churchmen. 

Besides the promotion of these objects, 
Bishop Hobart edited many works in sup- 
port of the Church's teachings, discipline 
and worship. To these compilations he 
added original works of a high order 
mostly of a theological character, although 
he was not without distinction as a writer 
upon secular themes. He was prominent 



355 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in various departments — as a theologian, 
a polemic and a scholar of extensive and 
varied attainments. He was a pioneer in 
advancing the school of thought, in this 
country, known as "High Church" Angli- 
canism. Among his many publications, 
the following may be noted: "Compan- 
ion for the Altar" (12 mo. 1804, issued in 
many editions, appended to copies of .the 
Book of Common Prayer, and still re- 
garded as of value and authority) ; "Com- 
panion to the Book of Common Prayer" 
(12 mo. 1805, a compilation from the 
standard liturgical works of the day and 
having a wide circulation for years) ; 
"Collection of Essays on Episcopacy" 
(8 vo. 1806, a treasury of the arguments 
for church defense) ; "Apology for Apos- 
tolic Order" (8 vo. 1807, a statement of 
the church's position as opposed to vari- 
ous forms of dissent) ; "A Treatise on the 
Place of Departed Spirits and Christ's 
Descent into Hell" appended to a "Funer- 
al Address" at the interment of Bishop 
Moore (8 vo., 1816, of which numerous 
editions have appeared) ; "Sermons on 
the Principal Events and Truths of Re- 
demption" (2 vols., 8 vo., 1824). As a 
recognition of his personal worth and the 
service he rendered to his communion, a 
chief educational college of the denomina- 
tion bears the illustrious name of Hobart. 
Bishop Hobart's death occurred at Au- 
burn, September 10, 1830, and is said to 
have resulted from his conscientious un- 
willingness to resort to stimulants to 
arrest the progress of disease. He is 
buried under the chancel of Trinity 
Church, at whose altar he so long min- 
istered. 



DICKINSON, Daniel S., 

Laivyer, Statesman, Nationalist. 

Daniel Stevens Dickinson, an accom- 
plished lawyer, a conspicuous politican, 
an able statesman, an entertaining orator, 



remarkable for the tenacity with which 
he clung to his convictions and the cour- 
age with which he expressed them, was 
born in Goshen, Litchfield county, Con- 
necticut, September 11, iSoo, the fourth 
in a family of eight children. His parents, 
both natives of Connecticut, were of Eng- 
lish lineage. His father, Daniel T., was 
a farmer of moderate means; a man of 
intelligence and probity and of energfy 
and decision of character. His mother, 
whose maiden name was Mary Caulkins, 
was of good mind, amiable disposition 
and sincere religious sentiment, discharg- 
ing her domestic duties with diligence 
and fidelity. In 1806, the family settled 
in Guilford. Chenango county and he was 
reared amid the toils of the farm and the 
hardships, adventures and privations of 
pioneer life. Daniel's school advantages, 
with his parents anxious to afford him the 
best the neighborhood yielded, were of 
limited range. The first school organized 
in the region was conducted in a room of 
their dwelling. But by this and with home 
encouragement and instruction, he suc- 
ceeded in acquiring a competent prelim- 
inary training and with an ardor for study 
and an inherited literary taste he became 
a good English scholar, with some knowl- 
edge of the classics and of various 
branches of science and general literature. 
A college education was denied him. 

For a time, he was apprenticed to a 
clothier and became well skilled in that 
occupation, although he did not pursue it 
as a livelihood. In 1820, he began teach- 
ing and was thus engaged for the ensuing 
five years, and also became proficient as 
a surveyor. Applying himself to the law, 
the study of which he continued in the 
office of Clark and Clapp, in Norwich, the 
senior member of the firm being the Hon. 
Lot Clark, a leading practitioner of Cen- 
tral New York, he was admitted to the 
bar in 1828, and opened an office in Guil- 
ford, where he held for a time the ofifice 



356 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



of postmaster. In December, 1831, seek- 
ing a larger field, he removed to Bing- 
hamton, then an aspiring village, the capi- 
tal of Broome county. On 1822, he had 
married Lydia, a daughter of Colby 
Knapp, M.D., a leading physician of the 
Southern tier, their union, for over a half 
century, being happily blended in mutual 
love, confidence and refinement. At Bing- 
hamton, which was his lifelong home, he 
entered at once upon a large legal practice 
and in due time, won deserved promi- 
nence among the lawyers of the state. 
He was an allround lawyer of the first 
order, equally apt in the trial of a case, 
in searching examination of witnesses, in 
fervent appeals to juries and in absolute 
loyalty to his client ; and his arguments 
in the higher courts revealed thorough 
knowledge of the law and finished art in 
its presentation. He never received 
official recognition in the line of his pro- 
fession, save as attorney-general and 
United States district attorney in his later 
years and, if so considered, as a senatorial 
member of the Court of Errors at an early 
period in his public career. His honors 
were mainly of a political character, on 
an ascending scale, until he reached a seat 
in the highest legislative body of the 
nation. 

Daniel S. Dickinson was a JefTersonian 
Democrat, "bred in the bone" and stead- 
ily adherring to the precepts of the mas- 
ter. In 1834, he was elected president of 
the village of Binghamton. In 1835, he 
was a member of the Democratic Nation- 
al Convention, at Baltimore, that nomin- 
ated Van Buren for the presidency. In the 
fall of 1836 he was elected to the State 
Senate from the sixth district comprising 
the counties of Chenango, Broome, Tomp- 
kins, Tioga, Chemung, Steuben, Living- 
ston, Alleghany and Cattaraugus. He 
served therein for the term beginning 
January I, 1837, and ending January I, 
1 84 1. In that body he held high rank both 



as a legislator and jurist. As a debater 
he was ready and effective, especially in 
the discussion of the financial questions 
growing out of the discontinuance of the 
United States Bank and the establishment 
of the Independent Treasury, to which the 
State policy had to be conformed ; and 
upon purely State matters of the small- 
bill law; the bank suspension law, and the 
various measures for the enlargement of 
the canals and for the construction of the 
Erie railway. Particularly notable are 
two speeches — the one that against the 
repeal of the usury laws, as proposed by 
Governor Marcy, which may be termed his 
introductory address, February 10, 1827, 
and the other that of January 11, 1840, 
his valedictory, in review of Governor 
Seward's message, through which runs a 
vein of keenest sarcasm. His judicial 
opinions in the Court of Errors are 
marked with learning and clearness, em- 
phasizing the equities of the questions 
considered. 

Dickinson's course in the senate, thor- 
oughly approved, brought him the Demo- 
cratic nomination for lieutenant-governor 
in 1840, but he was overwhelmed by 
the tumultuous Whig tidal wave of that 
year which swept the country, although 
he received five thousand more votes in 
the state than the Democratic presidential 
candidate. Van Buren. In 1842, he was 
again proposed for lieutenant-governer, 
but published a letter declining to be- 
come a candidate; he was nevertheless 
nominated unanimously and was elected 
by twenty-five thousand majority. As 
lieutenant-governer he was president of 
the senate, presiding judge of the Court 
of Errors; member of the canal board 
and vice-chancellor of the university. He 
gained largely in the esteem in which he 
was held by his dignity and impartiality 
as presiding officer in both departments 
of the senate — the legislative and the 
judicial. In the presidential campaign of 



357 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPH\ 



1844 he was a delegate to the Democratic 
National Convention and afterward can- 
vassed the state for Polk and Dallas, ad- 
vocating chiefly the proposition for the 
annexation of Texas, the burning issue of 
the hour. In this campaign, Dickinson 
confirmed his reputation as one of the 
most entertaining and effective "stump 
orators" in the land. Whatever his merits 
as a statesman, he was well nigh peerless 
on the stump. Utterly frank and utterly 
fearless, he was by turns earnest, vehe- 
ment, incisive and witty. He enchained 
his audiences, if, in all instances, he did 
not persuade them. It was then that he 
was popularly called "Scripture Dick" 
from his frequent and apposite quotations 
from the Bible — the epithet thus applied 
clinging to him throughout his remaining 
days. As an elector at large, he had the 
satisfaction of casting his vote in the New 
York College for President Polk, whom 
he upheld so valiantly in the popular can- 
vass. 

In the successive evolutions of factions 
in the Democratic party in the State, Dick- 
inson was recognized, as par excellence, 
the champion of the conservative element, 
known as "Hunkers" and later as "Hards" 
and, as a representative of the latter ele- 
ment was appointed United States sena- 
tor, November 20, 1844, to fill the vacancy 
caused by the resignation of Nathaniel P 
Tallmadge and, February 4, 1845, was 
elected for a full term, by the legislature. 
Throughout that term, his subserviency to 
the slave power was constantly and even 
profusely expressed. He was nationally 
known as "a Northern man with Southern 
principles." In the stinging phrase of 
Greeley he is thus described : 

The obduracy, the consistency of Mr. Dickin- 
son's Democracy are of the most marked type. 
Ever since he changed his vote from Van Biiren 
to Polk, with such hearty alacrity in the Balti- 
more convention of 1844, he has promptly 
yielded to every requisition which the Southern 



Democracy has made upon their Northern allies. 
All along through the stormy years when the 
star of the Wilmot Proviso was in the ascend- 
ant, and when Wright and Dix bowed to the 
gale, and even Marcy and Bronson bent before 
it, Dickinson, on the floor of the Senate, stood 
erect and immovable. 

Dickinson's own sentiments as reported 
by his brother (Dickinson's Speeches, 
Correspondence, etc., page 19) are as 
follows : 

He regarded slavery as an incumbrance fas 
tened upon the country in its colonial condition 
and recognized at the formation of the Union; 
and held that the rights of the slaveholder, as 
thus recognized by the constitution, in the 
States, were not within the power and control 
of the general government; and that the govern- 
ment, the States and the people of the States 
ought, on whatever side of the question, to 
observe and keep the constitutional provisions 
regarding slavery fairly and in the spirit in 
which tliey were framed, and thus avoid, as did 
the patriot framers of the government, for wise 
and good reasons the "conflict" which the ex- 
tremes of Northern and Southern opinion were 
constantly urging forward and tending to make 
"irrepressible." 

And Dickinson himself distinctly aver- 
red, when Sumter was fired upon, that 
"while slavery remained within the pro- 
tection of the constitution I sought, like 
the careful physician, to heal the diseased 
member and save the body politic from 
harm on its account ; but now that it has 
thrown ofT the constitution and broken 
out in armed rebellion, endangering the 
national existence, I would promptly act 
the part of the surgeon and cut it off." 

In the senate, he assumed a leading 
part in the discussion and furthering of 
all the principal measures within its pur- 
view — the annexation of Texas ; the war 
with Mexico; the settlement of the Ore- 
gon boundary with Great Britain ; the 
Clayton Bulwer treaty ; and the com- 
promise legislation of 1850. He contract- 
ed friendships, for which he had a genius 
with many of his colleagues, including 



358 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the illustrious trio, Clay, Calhoun and 
Webster. Retiring from the senate in 
1851, he still maintained an active inter- 
est in national and State politics along the 
lines indicated and approved the "Dred 
Scott'' decision of the United States 
Supreme Court. He was a member of the 
Democratic National Convention, in 1848, 
that nominated General Cass foi the 
presidency as against the "Free Soil" de- 
fection headed by Martin and enunciated 
by John Van P>uren. He ardently sup- 
ported Pierce in 1852 and Buchanan in 
1856, being busily engaged upon the 
stump in each instance, but devoting the 
major portion of his time to his profes- 
sional and business pursuits. At the Na- 
tional Convention in Charleston, in i860, 
he resolutely opposed the nomination of 
Douglas, there being a considerable un- 
dertone of sentiment for his own prefer- 
ment. He is said to have had ten votes 
in the New York delegation, could they 
have been counted, but these were fore- 
closed by the unit rule, the "Softs" in a 
majority, and its vote was cast solidlv for 
Douglas by Dean Richmond, its chair- 
man. Dickinson however received as high 
as sixteen votes on some of the roll calls, 
mainly from Virginia. Following the di- 
vision in the Democratic camp, he de- 
clared himself for Breckenridge and Lane, 
the nominees of the cotton-states Demo- 
cracy, earnestly enlisting in their behalf 
in the canvass, making a stirring speech 
at the Cooper Institute July 18, i860, de- 
nunciatory of the alleged machinations 
which brought about the naming of 
Douglas, and following it with efforts of 
the same import throughout the state. 
During the troublous winter of 1861, he 
labored industriously to arrange compro- 
mises between the sections and avert the 
horrors of Civil War. 

But, when the battle was on, it was 
"right about face" with Daniel S. Dick- 
inson. So earnestly as he had pleaded for 



the rights of the States and the immu- 
nities of slavery, within the constitution, 
as he construed it, as bravely he took his 
stand for the Union and the vigorous 
prosecution of the war for its perpetuity. 
He announced his attitude at the monster 
mass meeting held in Union Square, New 
York, in a speech every sentence of which 
quivered with emotion and flamed with 
patriotism. "For myself," he said, "I 
know of but one section, one Union, one 
flag, one government. That section em- 
braces every State ; that Union is the 
Union sealed with the blood and conse- 
crated by the tears of the Revolutionary 
struggle ; that flag is the flag known and 
honored in every sea under heaven ; 
which has borne off glorious victory, from 
many a bloody field and yet stirs with 
warmer and quicker pulsations the heart's 
blood of every true American, when he 
looks upon its stars and stripes wherever 
it waves. That government is the govern- 
ment of Washington and .Adams and Jef- 
ferson and Jackson ; a government which, 
from humble beginnings, has borne us 
forward with fabulous celerity and made 
us one of the great and prosperous powers 
of the earth * * * j ^^[i\ sustain that 
flag of stars and stripes, recently rendered 
more glorious by Anderson, his officers 
and men, wherever it waves over the sea 
and over the land." He was "instant in 
season and out of season," in many public 
addresses, in the rallying of troops to the 
standard, the 89th New York Volunteers 
being raised by him and named in his 
honor, "The Dickinson Guards*" and a 
battery recruited from Binghamton and 
vicinitj' also bearing his name ; and he 
gave freely of his means to the Union 
cause. 

In the fall of 1861, he was elected at- 
torney-general on the "Union" ticket ; he 
was prominently mentioned for governor 
at Syracuse in 1862, but General Wads- 
worth, whom he ardently supported on 



359 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



the hustings, was preferred. In 1863, 
Governor Fenton tendered him a seat in 
the Court of Appeals, which he declined ; 
and, in the spring of 1865, President Lin- 
coln, among his last official acts, appoint- 
ed him United States Attorney for the 
Southern District of New York and he 
was faithfully discharging the duties of 
the place, then of grave responsibility, 
when he died suddenly at the residence of 
his son-in-law Samuel G. Courtney, in 
New York, April 12, 1866, universally 
lamented. Tributes to his memory were 
paid in the press and before many bar as- 
sociations, those of Judge Bosworth, Gen- 
eral Dix, James T. Brady and William 
M. Evarts being especially impressive 
and appreciative. He is buried in Spring 
Grove Cemetery, Binghamton. In person 
he was of medium height, strongly but 
not heavily built, with a head of massive 
proportions and a countenance indicating 
at once intellectual activity and strength. 
force of character and benevolence of dis- 
position. For the latter portion of his 
life he was rendered venerable in appear- 
ance beyond his years by long and flow- 
ing locks of snowy whiteness contrasting 
with the beaming face and alert step of 
a hale and hearty manhood. He was a 
consistent communicant of the Protestant 
Episcopal church. His private character 
was stainless ; his habits frugal and regu- 
lar; his family attachments strong, tend- 
er and abiding; his disposition cheerful 
and confiding; his citizenship devoted to 
the progress and weal of the community, 
in which he was highly respected and be- 
loved. Sufficient, perhaps, has been said 
of his oratorical quality. His voice was 
clear, reaching and, at times ringing, ac- 
centuating the earnestness, wit, anec- 
dote and repartee it conveyed. He was 
withal a versifier of no mean pretensions. 
Especially chaste in sentiment and melo- 
diotis in measure is the poem "To Lydia," 
indited to his wife but five days before 



his death. He was laureated Doctor of 
Laws by Hamilton College in 1858. His 
speeches, correspondence, etc., edited by 
his brother, John R. Dickinson (2 vols., 
8 vo.) from the press of G. P. Putnam 
& Son. were published in 1867. 



ROCHESTER, Nathaniel, 

Fonnder of City. 

As, at the close of the Revolution, New 
England settlers sprinkled Western New 
York with homesteads and sprinkled it 
with hamlets, sagacious observers fore- 
saw that, somewhere in the rich valley 
of the Genesee, a thriving mart — perhaps, 
a metropolis — would arise. The fertile 
acres proclaimed it, the affluent waters 
sang of it and the spacious harbor of On- 
tario invited it. The vision of the sooth- 
sayer beheld it, and the divining rod of 
the projector located it at Carthage, Han- 
ford's Landing, Charlotte — where not? 
One man, however, knew — Colonel Na- 
thaniel Rochester, who. in conjunction 
with Colonel William Fitzhugh and Major 
Charles Carroll, bought what is known as 
the "one hundred acre lot" and became 
the founder and sponsor of the beautiful 
city that bears his name. 

Nathaniel Rochester, of gentle English- 
Virginia lineage, the second son of John 
Rochester, was born February 21, 1752, 
in Cople Parish, Westmoreland county, 
Virginia, on the plantation where his 
father, grandfather and great-grandfather 
had lived. When he was two years old, 
his father died and, when he was seven, 
his mother married Thomas Critcher 
who, in 1763, removed, with the entire 
family, to Granville county. North Caro- 
lina. During his childhood, the opportu- 
nities for a liberal education were ex- 
tremely limited. The varied and practi- 
cal information for which he was distin- 
guished in private intercourse, as well as 
in the public trusts that he filled, was the 



360 




NATHANIEL ROCHESTER 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



fruit of the later application of a clear 
and vigorous intellect, in the intervals of 
leisure afforded by a life of no ordinary 
activity and vicissitude. At the south, 
he had a career of signal service to the 
country, assuring high honor and abund- 
ant success. It may be traced, briefly. 
When sixteen years of age, he essayed 
mercantile pursuits as a clerk in Ilills- 
boro, remaining as such for some five 
years, when he became a partner in busi- 
ness at Hillsboro with James Monroe and 
Colonel John Hamilton, afterward British 
consul for the Middle States. In 1770, he 
was clerk of the vestry of Hillsboro. The 
firm was dissolved at the outbreak of the 
war, in 1775, and he was appointed clerk 
of the committee of safety for Orange 
county. In August of that year, he was 
a member of the first provincial conven- 
tion in North Carolina, and was made 
paymaster, with the rank of major, in the 
North Carolina line. He was appointed 
May 16, 1776, commissary-general of mili- 
tary and other stores in his county for 
the use of the Continental army. Later 
in the year, he held a seat in the Leg- 
islature, was commissioned lieutenant- 
colonel of militia, and elected county 
clerk.' In 1777, he acted as commissioner 
to establish and superintend a manufac- 
tory of arms at Hillsboro. In 1778, he 
returned to mercantile life in company 
with Colonel Thomas Hart (father-in- 
law of Henry Clay) and James Brown 
(subsequently Minister to France) ; and 
in 1783 engaged with Colonel Hart in tht 
manufacture of flour, rope and nails at 
Hagerstown, Maryland. He married. 
April 26, 1788, Sophia, daughter of Colo- 
nel William Beatty, of Frederick, Mary- 
land, by whom he had twelve children. 

While in Hagerstown. he filled succes- 
sively the offices of member of assembly 
of the State, local postmaster and judge 
of the county court. In 1808, he was a 



Madison ; and became the first president 
of the Hagerstown Bank; this while 
carrying on extensive manufactories there 
and two mercantile concerns in Ken- 
tucky. In 1800, he first visited the 
"Genesee country," having previously in- 
vested in six hundred and forty acres of 
land in Livingston county, making still 
further investments in real estate near 
Dansville and there erecting a paper mill 
and making many improvements thereon. 
He soon purchased the one-hundred acre 
or "Allen mill tract," in what was then 
called Falls Town. In 1810, he closed his 
aff'airs in Maryland, largely impelled 
against continued residence there by his 
aversion to the institution of slavery, and 
his desire to remove his family from its 
demoralizing influences. He freed all his 
slaves, bringing a majority of them with 
him as hired domestic servants, and with 
his household goods set his face toward 
the north star, forming his residence at 
Dansville for five years. It may here be 
said, incidentally, that Rochester, which 
the Chrysostom of the colored race was 
afterward to make his home, and in which 
New York's most philosophic statesman 
was to announce the "irrepressible con- 
flict." is, through the resolution of its 
founder, honorably associated with the 
revival of anti-slavery sentiment in the 
land. In 1815, Colonel Rochester, having 
disposed of his interests in Dansville, re- 
moved to a large and well improved farm 
in Bloomfield, Ontario county and, after 
staying there three years, made his per- 
manent residence in the future city, 
which had taken his name, in April, 1818. 
In 181 6, he was, a second time, a presi- 
dential elector, voting for Monroe. 

Meanwhile, he had spent much time 
and exercised his rare executive ability in 
the visitation and development of his 
main estate at the falls of the Genesee. 
In 1802, he had bought and in 181 1 had 



presidential elector, casting his vote for surveyed, plotted and opened it to settle- 

361 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ment; which slowly, at the first, but in- ing permitted to witness the chartering 

creasing with the advancing years, was of the city which occurred three years 

largely component of Puritan pluck and subsequently. He left surviving him, his 

strength, but was also informed with the wife and a large family of children. His 

Cavalier refinement of the founder and his eldest son, William Beatty, obtained high 

associates, which has adorned its scenic political distinction, being a member of 

beauty and evoked its social charm. The assembly in 1817 and 1818, a presidential 

hundred-acre tract, thus founded and elector (for Monroe) in 1820, a repre- 

fostered, was the urban nucleus. It was sentative in the Eighteenth Congress, a 

located on the western bank of the Gene- circuit judge from 1823 until 1826, 



see, the eastern, now famous for its broad 
avenues and stately mansions, long re- 
maining farming lands. In 1812, Colonel 
Rochester secured a postoffice for his 
embryo village. It was incorporated as 



the Democratic candidate for governor 
against DeWitt Clinton in 1826, and Min- 
ister to Central America in 1827. The 
third son, Thomas Hart, was mayor of 
Rochester in 1839; and two other sons, 



Rochesterville in 1817, the final syllable Nathaniel Thrift and Henry Elie, were 

being soon eliminated. In that year, he long highly respected citizens, holding 

was secretary of the canal convention at important trusts in the city. The family 

Canandaigua which urged the construe- is also well and honorably known in the 

tion of the Erie, and was throughout its third generation in various localities, but 

zealous champion, appreciative of the ad- the name is. for the moment, extinct in 

vantages that would accrue to his com- Rochester. 

munity and the State upon its completion. 

In 1821, notably by his efforts, Monroe 
county was erected from Genesee and 
Ontario, and named for the then presi- 
dent of the United States. He was the Of Clement C. Moore. LL.D., it is to 
first clerk of the new county and its first be said that ripe scholar and distinguish- 
representative in the State legislature. In ed educator and author as he was, to the 
1824, he was one of the commission for great mass of readers he is only known 
soliciting subscriptions to the stock of for his time-honored verse, "The Night 
the Bank of Rochester, and its first presi- before Christmas," beginning: 

dent. Devoutly attached to the Protes- 

'Twas the niglit before CliristiiKis. when all 

through the house 

Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. 



MOORE. Clement C, 

Educator. Anthor. 



tant Episcopal communion from his 
youth, he was a founder of St. Luke's 
Church, the first of that denomination to 
be established in the village. He was the 



He was born July 15, 1779, at "Chelsea," 



master-spirit in all corporate enterprises the parental estate, which then embraced 
and the helping hand in all charities— nearly all the territory between Nine- 
"first citizen" as well as founder. teenth and Twenty-fourth streets, west of 
The last years of his life were those of Eighth avenue. New York City. His par- 
sickness and pain, which compelled him ents were Right Reverend Benjamin and 
to forego his many activities and, at Charity (Clarke) Moore. The father was 
times, forbidding him even an hour's born in Newtown, Long Island, son of 
troubled repose. He died on the morning Lieutenant Samuel Moore, descended from 
of May 17, 1831, in his palatial home, John Moore, an Independent minister, the 
universally beloved and mourned, not be- first allowed to minister in New England, 

362 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and who died in 1657. Benjamin Moore 
was graduated from King's (Columbia) 
College, served as a private instructor in 
Latin and Greek in New York City, was 
prepared for the ministry by Rev. Dr. 
Auchmuty, rector of Trinity Church, and 
received ordination in the Church of 
England, in London. He was assistant 
minister and then rector of Trinity 
Church, New York City, and in 1815 be- 
came the second Bishop of New York, 
succeeding Bishop Provoost. He was 
president pro tcm. of King's College, 1775- 
76; and a regent of the University of the 
State of New York, 1787-1802; he died in 
New York City, February 27, 1816. He 
married Charity, daughter of Major 
Thomas Clarke, of the British army, who, 
retiring from service, established his 
home in New York ("Chelsea," referred to 
above), naming it after the famous mili- 
tary hospital in England. The residence 
was destroyed by fire during his last ill- 
ness, he being rescued with difficulty, and 
after his death it was rebuilt in greater 
style by his widow. 

Benjamin Moore was carefully trained 
by his scholarly father, and entered 
King's (Columbia) College, from which 
he graduated at the age of nineteen. His 
father had intended him for the ministry, 
but he declined to take orders, and gave 
himself to teaching and authorship. He 
was an accomplished scholar, and his 
"Hebrew and Greek Lexicon," published 
in two volumes in i8og, was the pioneer 
work on that subject in this country. In 
1813 he became a trustee of Columbia 
College, and held the position until 1857, 
and was clerk of the board the greater 
part of this time. In 1818 he presented 
an entire block of the "Chelsea" estate to 
the newly organized General Theological 
Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, conditioning his gift upon the 
provision that the seminary edifice should 
be erected thereon, which was done, the 



corner-stone being laid July 28, 1825. 
The best years of his life and his most 
efficient labors were devoted to the ad- 
vancement of this institution. In 1821 he 
became Professor of Oriental and Greek 
Literature, and he held that chair until 
1850, when he was made Professor Emer- 
itus, in which capacity he served the 
remainder of his life, also editing "Bishop 
Benjamin Moore's Sermons," two volumes 
(1824) ; and producing "Poems," (1844) ; 
and "George Castriot, surnamed Scander- 
berg, King of Albania" (1850). 

His "Poems" were mainly written dur- 
ing his leisure hours, and chiefly for the 
diversion of his own children. The 
history of his "Visit of St. Nicholas," 
which brought to its author a broader 
celebrity than did his more studied works, 
has been well told by a biographer, Mr. 
William A. Pelletreau, the well-known 
Long Island antiquarian. The poem was 
written for his children's Christmas in 
1822, and in its manuscript form came 
under the eye of a friend who was visit- 
ing the Moore family — a daughter of Rev. 
Dr. David Butler, rector of St. Paul's 
Church, Troy. Miss Butler made a copy 
of the verses, and on her return home 
l;rocured their publication in the "Troy 
Sentinel" of December 23. 1823. At first. 
Dr. Moore was somewhat annoyed, hav- 
ing a slight opinion of his elYusion. How- 
ever, they met with general favor, and for 
many years they were widely published 
in the newspapers of the country at each 
recurring Christmas time, and eventually 
were reproduced in "School Readers," be- 
sides being translated into various foreign 
languages. In 1859 an edition was publish- 
ed, with illustrations by the favorite 
artist, Felix O. C. Darley. In 1862 Dr. 
George H. Moore, of the New York His- 
torical Society, obtained from the author 
an autograph copy of the verses, which 
is now in the library of the society, and 
which in 1897 was reproduced in a hand- 



363 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



some little brochure from the press of the 
G. W. Dillingham Company — "The Visit 
of St. Nicholas," with a life of the author, 
by William A. Pelletreau, and illustrated 
by Frederick Thornburgh. 

Dr. Moore passed his later years at 
Newport, Rhode Island, where he died, 
July ID, 1863. His remains were laid to 
rest in a vault in St. Luke's Church, Hud- 
son street, New York. 



KING, Preston, 

Politician, Statesman. 

Preston King, aggressive as a politi- 
cian and brave as a statesman, was born 
of good family at Ogdensburg, St. Law- 
rence county, always his home, October 
14, 1806. He was graduated from Union 
College and studied law with Judge John 
Fine, with whom he imbibed politics as 
well as law. He never engaged actively 
in practice, such work as he did and such 
honors as he achieved, being principally 
in the field of politics, in which he engaged 
early as an ardent Democrat. 

His first preferments were of a local 
character. He was a trustee of the vil- 
lage from 1830 to 1834 inclusive and 
supervisor of the town of Oswegatchie for 
three sessions (1832-34). He was ap- 
pointed postmaster of Ogdensburg in 
1832, serving through the Jackson admin- 
istration. In the fall of 1834, he was 
elected a member of assembly from the 
then strong Democratic county of St. 
Lawrence and continued therein for the 
four ensuing terms, continually empha- 
sizing his adherence to the principles of 
his party and his aggressive quality in 
their enunciation. During his tenure — a 
period of earnest and even acrimonious 
encounter between parties. Democracy 
losing its hold upon public sentiment, 
under the adversities of Van Buren, and 
Whiggery jubilant, although meeting, 
with occasional reverses, increasing its 



ascendancy at the polls. King, a ready de- 
bater of the sledge-hammer order, never 
ornate, but always forceful, gave and re- 
ceived hard blows and became recognized 
as a leader of his party; and especially 
as the champion of its radical element, 
contending for the "pay as you go" policy 
in economic concerns and resolutely op- 
posing either direct appropriation of 
funds for the canals or the incurring of 
future obligations for their improvement. 
In this, perhaps, he betrayed something 
of selfishness, for it was difficult to see 
how his section of the state could be par- 
ticularly benefited by their operation, 
while it was constrained to pay an undue 
share of taxes for their maintenance ; but 
in the main, it is but just to infer that his 
action was due to his fealty to genuine 
principles of Democracy. It could not be 
otherwise, with one so frank and courage- 
ous. He also opposed a profuse issue of 
bank charters ; and, thus early, gave evi- 
dence of the anti-slavery views which, 
later fully possessed him. 

His course in the assembly commended 
itself to his constituency ; and, in 1842, 
he was elected by the larger constituency 
of the eighteenth district — St. Lawrence 
and Lewis — a representative in Congress, 
continuing therein by successive returns 
for the ensuing ten years, generally act- 
ing with the body of his Democratic 
colleagues, but becoming more and more 
])ronounced in his resistance to the de- 
mands of the slave power. He was a 
zealous propagandist of the Wilmot 
Proviso, constantly urging its adoption, 
as the safeguard of the territories from 
the intrusion of slavery and as resolutely 
opposing the compromise measures of 
1850. He stood unflinchingly for the free 
soil of their domain. Allied with the 
"Barnburner" forces in the State, he 
urged and materially directed their seces- 
sion from the regular Democracy in 1848 
and identified himself with their revolt 



364 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAl'llY 

and cooperation with Free Soilers proper. "Softs," "Republicans" and "Know Noth- 
He notably declared himself in the "Barn- ings" all making nominations, and it re- 
burner" convention at Utica in June in suited in the sole State victory of the 
a speech of the most vigorous type and, last named, Joel T. Headley succeed- 
after the union had been effected at ing over King. In 1857, the "finger of 
Buffalo, canvassed assidulously for Van fate" pointed to King for United States 
Buren against General Cass. Moved by Senator. His primal anti-slavery record, 
considerations, which do not appear clear- supplemented by his fearless fidelity to 
ly, he, then being out of office, supported the cardinal principle of the Republicans 
the election of Pierce, as also that of — no further extension of human slavery 
Seymour for Governor in 1852 ; but when — and the consensus of Republican legis- 
the "Soft" convention at Utica, in June, lators that the choice should be made 
1854, approving the Pierce administra- from men of Democratic antecedents 
tion, refused to condemn the repeal of conspired in his selection, although the 
the Missouri compromise, he made a ring- names of such distinguished former 
ing speech denouncing what seemed to Democrats as Ward Hunt, James S. 
him its craven attitude and witlidrew Wadsworth, David Dudley Field were 
with dignity from its deliberations, fol- mentioned. The final vote in the caucus 
lowed by more than a hundred delegates, was sixty-five for King and seventeen for 
thus suggesting the conduct of Francis Hunt ; and in joint ballot of the Legisla- 
Granger at the Whig convention, four ture King was elected by a large ma- 
years previously, but with motives that jority. Thurlow Weed is generally credit- 
contrasted vividly with those that actu- ed with compassing the result. His sena- 
ated the "Silver Gray" marshal of 1850. torial service covered the four tumultuous 
Preston King then definitely proclaimed years prior to the Civil War and the first 
his renunciation of the Democratic party two of its battle fields. He retired March 
that he had long and loyally served and 4, 1863. He participated freely in the de- 
ranged himself with the Republicans, bates of the senate in intimate association 
bringing with him the great county of with Seward, Chase, Sumner, Wade and 
St. Lawrence, which has since cast its other senators of like ilk and was regard- 
votes prevailingly and unvaryingly with ed as one of the strong m,embers of that 
the Republicans as it had previously with eminent body, earnestly favoring all 
the Democracy. measures for the guarantees of freedom. 
The Republican organization, at its in- the vigorous prosecution of the war and 
ception, enlisted no advocate more enthu- the emancipation of slaves. He disap- 
siastic nor more powerful than the St. proved all attempts at compromise during 
Lawrence statesman and none upon the winter of 1861. On December 7, 
whom it stood more ready to bestow its i860, he wrote to Weed: "You must 
preferments. At its convention in Syra- abandon your position. It will prove dis- 
cuse, September 26, 1855, after welcom- tasteful to the majority of those you have 
ing to its embrace the Whigs who had hitherto led. You and Seward should be 
assembled in that city also, it was deter- among the foremost to brandish the lance 
mined to compose a state ticket allotted and shout for joy." He was appointed to 
equally to the two elements and it unani- the responsible and lucrative office of Col- 
mously placed Preston King at its head lector of Customs at the port of New 
as candidate for secretary of state. The York, August 12, 1865; and three months 
canvass was a quadrangular one, "Hards," later to a day, his mind unhinged by busi- 

3C>S 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



tiess cares and political perplexities, in 
a moment of extreme depression, he took 
his own life, bj' jumping into the North 
river from a ferry boat plying between 
New York and Hoboken. Sad ending to 
a fine and patriotic career ! 



REYNOLDS, Abelard. 

Pioneer, Nonagenarian. 

The name of Abelard Reynolds is memo- 
rable and honored in the "Flour," later, 
more widely known as the "Flower City." 
If Nathaniel Rochester is recognized just- 
ly as its founder, Reynolds is esteemed 
and revered as one of its chief promoters 
and builders, unique as its longest resi- 
dent. In rehearsing his life, we pause a 
moment to reflect upon his sensations, 
as he reviewed the marvelous urban de- 
velopment — "all of which he saw and a 
great part of which he was." What pano- 
rama of dissolving woods, of opening 
thoroughfares, of artificial water-ways, of 
iron fingers with friendly clasp of distant 
communities, of ascending walks enshrin- 
ing peaceful homes, or uplifting dome 
and tower and steeple, of hammers swing- 
ing and wheels revolving, of varied in- 
dustries unfolding and expanding, of 
hospitals and asylums evoked by the 
gentle genius of charity, of the confident 
tread of the sons pressing upon the totter- 
ing steps of the fathers, must have passed 
before him in his declining days. 

Abelard Reynolds, of Puritan lineage, 
was born October 2, 1785, at Quaker Hill, 
near Red Hook, Dutchess county. His 
father was a saddler by trade and the son 
was apprenticed to the same vocation. 
The family lived successively at Stringer's 
Patent, in New York, and at Groton, 
Montville and Windsor, Connecticut. 
When Abelard reached his twentieth 
year he was given the succeeding year 
of his apprenticeship by his father and 
went to Manchester, Vermont. There he 



worked at his trade until he had accumu- 
lated his first hundred dollars. Return- 
ing home he found his father in pecuniary 
difficulty which he at once assumed, and 
also purchased a farm and began the 
saddler's business on his own account at 
Washington, Berkshire county, Massa- 
chusetts. He removed thence to Pitts- 
field, where, October i, 1809, he married 
Lydia Strong, with whom he was to 
enjoy a wedded life of seventy years. 

In the fall of 181 1, the "wander lust," 
with view of western settlement, possess- 
ed him and he started on a tour of obser- 
vation, in which he visited several towns 
in northern New York, but returned to 
Pittsfield without having reached a de- 
cision. Starting again, his journeying 
embraced a goodly portion of western 
New York, northern Pennsylvania and 
the "Western Reserve" of Ohio, being 
strongly attracted toward Warren in the 
last named section ; and on April 6, 1812, 
with the thought of making a home there, 
once more set his face westward, but with 
lingerings at Rome, Manlius, Skaneateles, 
Geneva, Canandaigua and Bloomfield, 
where, learning of the bright prospects of 
Charlotte, he went thither. At Charlotte, 
however, he heard even brighter prophe- 
cies of the outlook of the "100 acre tract," 
which Colonel Rochester had recently 
plotted, and was then known as Falls 
Farm, where, after thorough investiga- 
tion, foregoing plans either at Warren or 
Charlotte, he determined to abide. 

He immediately bought lots twenty- 
three and twenty-four on the north side 
of Main (then Buffalo) street, at the heart 
of the future city, but a span's breadth 
from the famous "Four Corners." There, 
by the middle of January, 1S13, he had 
reared the first frame dwelling in the ham- 
let. A month later, he brought his family, 
then consisting of his wife and his elder 
son, William A., a mere infant, from Pitts- 
field, and opened his habitation as a public 



366 




ABELARD REYNOLDS 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



house, occupying it also for business the social charm of the "old third ward," 
(saddlery, etc.) purposes, reserving space with its well worn pavements, its curving 



for the post-office, to which, during his 
absence, he had been appointed master, 
by the influence of Colonel Rochester, 
exerted through Henry Clay, his intimate 
friend, and Colonel Hart, his former part- 
ner (q. V. Rochester sketch). The post- 
office was a pine desk, three and a half 
feet long, two wide and four feet high, 
now preserved as a relic in the Reynolds 
librarv, still firm and sulistantial. The 



streets, its Corinthian pillars, its wide 
piazzas and forest foliage — rus in urhe — 
of the period preceding the architectural 
grandeur, the verdurous lawns and bril- 
liant parterres of the avenues. 

For sixty-six years, Abelard Reynolds 
lived and labored in the place to which 
he came as pioneer and ended as patri- 
arch. He was tall of stature, erect of 
bearing and beneficent of feature, as 



postal receipts were, for the first quarter modest and unassuming as he was brave 
of the year, three dollars and forty-two and efficient. In politics he was, in regu- 



cents, with expense and profit to the 
government nothing. Mr. Reynolds con- 
tinued postmaster, under various admin- 
istrations, for seventeen years. In 1817, 
he domiciled on the corner of Buffalo 



lar succession, a Federalist. Whig and 
Republican, not prominently engaged in 
their activities but loyal to their princi- 
l)les. He never sought preferment and 
but twice accepted it. He was a mem- 



and Sophia streets^ having leased the ber of Assembly in 1827 and represented 

"tavern" for a term of two years, return- the liiird ward in the Common Council 

ing to the Buffalo street house until, in in 1838 and 1839. He was one of the 

1836, he removed to a farm in the western founders of the Atheneum — Rochester's 

section, abiding there until 1838, when he first public library — and furnished a room 

purchased a house on North Fitzhugh specially for it in the Arcade, lie was 



street, where he stayed until 1847 and 
then acquired the residence on South 
Fitzhugh street for the remaining thirty 
years of his life. These details, probably 
inconsequential to outsiders, are interest- 
ing to citizens of Rochester who note 
each incident in the builder's career. The 
original site is monumental ; for upon it, 
in 1828, Abelard Reynolds erected the 
"Arcade," long the largest, most costly 
and im.posing of any commercial struc- 
ture in the State west of Albany. It still 
stands, substantially as constructed, and 
enlarged and improved by William A. 
some twenty years later, with its com- 
modious stores, rotunda and galleries. 



for nearly sixty years a member of the 
Masonic order, in which he uniformly 
exhibited a deep interest. He passed 
through its various grades and in 1854 
was exalted to the office of Prelate in 
Monroe Commandery, which he faithfully 
administered for more than twenty years. 
It was said of him at his death, that he 
had probably received more templars at 
the altar than any other prelate in the 
United States. 

For several years before his passing, 
he had relinquished all business con- 
cerns and lived quietly and serenely 
with her who for seven decades had been 
his counselor and helpmate, and died De- 



near the solid masonry and tesselated cember 19, 1878, aged ninety-three. Of 

halls of the modern "sky-scrapers," testi- their marriage six children were born, 

fying to the prevision of the father, the four reaching maturity. They were Wil- 

enterprize of the son and the public spirit liam A., born in Pittsfield, exceedingly 

of both. The South Fitzhugh street man- valuable in the affairs and philanthropies 

sion is also monumental, as it recalls of the city ; Mortimer F.. the first white 

367 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



child born in Rochesterville, president of 
the Rochester Savings Bank, and the 
benefactor of the Reynolds Library ; Clara 
E., the wife of Dr. Henry Strong, of Col- 
linsville, Illinois; and Mary E., who was 
married to B. D. McAlpine, of Rochester. 
Abelard's wife, Lydia, survived him over 
twenty years and died a centennarian — 
"a mother in Israel," with the benisons 
of the community upon her memory. 



BROOKS, James, 

Journalist. 

Not a native of New York, it was in this 
State that James Brooks performed his 
best work, and made his reputation. He 
was born in Portland, Maine, November 
10, 1810, son of Captain James and Eliza- 
beth (Folsom) Brooks. His father was 
an Englishman by birth, but an American 
in thought and sympathy, and during the 
war against Great Britain, in 1812, com- 
manded the privateer brig "Yankee," in 
which he perished, with all on board. His 
mother's family (Folsom) were among 
the earliest in New England, having set- 
tled in the Massachusetts Bay colony in 

1633- 

The death of Captain Brooks, in 1812, 
left the widow with three children, and 
her only means was the government pen- 
sion allowed her for the services of her 
husband. James Brooks attended a neigh- 
borhood school, but was obliged to leave 
it when eleven years old, being bound out 
to a storekeeper in Lewiston, Maine. His 
servitude was to continue until he came 
of age, but he attracted the kindly in- 
terest of his master, who soon released 
him from his obligation and aided him to 
enter Waterville College (now Colby Uni- 
versity), from which he graduated at the 
head of his class the year in which he at- 
tained his majority. While a student, he 
had supported himself by teaching, and 
after his graduation became a teacher in 



a Latin school in Portland, at the same 
time studying law in the office of a dis- 
tingushed lawyer, John Neal, and in due 
time he was admitted to the bar. How- 
ever, while a law student, he had written 
anonymous letters to the "Portland Ad- 
vertiser," these attracting such attention 
that the proprietor of that paper engaged 
him as a writer for a year at a salary of 
$500, and this changed the direction of his 
life. He soon became recognized as a 
speaker as well as a writer, and he waa 
almost immediately elected to the Maine 
Legislature. He next went to Washing- 
ton City, and as a newspaper correspon- 
dent his brilliant letters brought him 
added fame in Europe as well as at home. 
During intervals he traveled in America 
and Europe as a writer, making his jour- 
neys mainly afoot. In 1835 he was re- 
turned to the Legislature, and in that 
body introduced the first proposition for 
a railroad from Portland to Montreal and 
Quebec. The next year he was the Whig 
candidate for Congress, and his personal 
popularity enabled him to almost reverse 
the normal Democratic majority. 

In 1836 Mr. Brooks took up his resi- 
dence in New York City, where he began 
the publication of "The Express." His 
capital was insufficient, and his labors 
were necessarily unremitting, he perform- 
ing the editorial and reportorial work 
practically unaided, but he gave a sub- 
stantial foundation to his journal, and it 
commanded great respect. In 1840 Mr. 
Brooks visited Indiana and made several 
speeches in advocacy of General William 
Henry Llarrison's election to the presi- 
dency, and the two became close friends. 
An incident of this intimacy was Mr. 
Brooks's repeated visits to the White 
House during the brief presidency of 
General Harrison, and here he met Mrs. 
Mary L. (Cunningham) Randolph, a \'ir- 
ginia lady and a relative of the President, 
whom he married. In 1847 Mr. Brooks 



368 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



was elected to the New York Legislature, 
and in the following year to Congress, 
and in which body his service extended to 
1853. Favoring the compromise measures 
of 1850, with reference to the slavery 
question, he gradually gravitated to the 
Democratic party, and rose to high place 
among its leaders. He was again elected 
to Congress in 1865, and by repeated re- 
elections was a member of that body until 
his death, being then a member of its 
most important committee, that of ways 
and means, and having been twice its can- 
didate for the speakership. In 1872 he 
was charged with being implicated in the 
"Credit Mobilier" scandal, and was among 
those censured by the Forty-second Con- 
gress. This did not at all afifect his popu- 
larity, for he was returned to the next 
Congress by the largest majority ever 
given a New York congressman down to 
that time ; his death, however, occurred 
before the opening of the session. In 1867 
he was a member of the New York Consti- 
tutional Convention ; in 1869 he was ap- 
pointed by President Johnson a govern- 
ment director of the Union Pacific rail- 
road. During his political career he was 
almost constantly a delegate to the na- 
tional conventions of his party; and he re- 
mained at the head of "The Express" his 
life through. 

Mr. Brooks, in spite of the disadvan- 
tages of his youth, became an unusually 
well equipped man intellectually, was 
well read, and had a conversational 
knowledge of four languages. He was a 
fluent speaker, with great ability to grasp 
situations and state them with accuracy 
and clearness. As a writer, he was clear 
and graceful and few of his day were 
more widely read. His was an attractive 
personality, and he enjoyed the intimate 
friendship of Webster, Clay, and their 
compeers, as well as of the political and 
literary leaders of later days. His news- 



paper writings would fill volumes, but 
his only published work was "A Seven 
Months' Run Up and Down and Around 
the World" (New York, 1872), a compila- 
tion of his letters to "The Express" dur- 
ing his last visit abroad. He died in 
Washington City, April 30, 1873, his last 
days embittered by the congressional cen- 
sure passed upon him, and which he had 
fully expected would be annulled. 



PUTNAM, George Palmer, 

Writer, Publisher. 

George Palmer Putman, son of Henry 
and Catherine Hunt (Palmer) Putnam, 
was born February 7, 1814, in Brunswick, 
Maine, and died December 20, 1872, in 
New York City. 

He received his early training, with 
his sisters, in his mother's school, a well- 
known and popular institution of Bruns- 
wick. He enjoyed the sports of the times 
and region, skating on the Androscoggin 
river in winter, and boating up and down 
the same in summer. When he was eleven 
years of age he was offered an apprentice- 
ship, in Boston, to the mercantile business 
by the husband of his mother's sister, John 
Gulliver. The latter's son, John Putnam 
Gulliver, was of the same age as young 
Putnam, and they became companions in 
the business training and work of the store. 
This establishment was devoted chiefly 
to carpets, and its owner was a man of 
strict puritanical views. The boys slept 
together in the rear of the store, and were 
chiefly occupied in keeping the place in 
order. There were few holidays, and the 
business day was a long one. The Sab- 
bath was observed with full New Eng- 
land strictness, including morning and 
evening prayers at home, Sunday school, 
and two long church services. No read- 
ing was permitted on the Sabbath except 
in works of devotional character, and 



N Y— Vol 1-2* 



369 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



there were very few books then available 
to the young men. Young Putnam had 
a strong taste for reading, and in later 
years he often referred to the "literary 
starvation" which he suffered in Boston, 
and also spoke of the compunctions of 
conscience he experienced when surrep- 
titiously reading a volume of Miss Edge- 
worth's tales. This belonged to the for- 
bidden class of fiction, and its reading was 
looked upon as a frivolity. 

George Palmer Putnam remained with 
his uncle in Boston about four years, and 
in 1829 decided to try his chances of 
securing a livelihood in New York City. 
From Brunswick he journeyed to Boston 
by sea, and took ship thence to New York. 
Here he very soon became engaged in 
literary work, and during the first year 
after his arrival, when he was fifteen 
years old, he began a historical manual 
which was completed in three years' time. 
In 1833 he completed and published 
through West & Trow a weekly chronicle 
entitled the "Publishers' Advertiser." He 
undertook to review the current publica- 
tions, which in that year included the first 
volume of Bancroft's "United States," 
Abbott's "Young Christian," Mrs. Sigour- 
ney's "Sketches," and Cooper's "Letters 
to My Countrymen." His first introduc- 
tion to the book trade was made very 
shortly after his arrival. He speaks of 
his first studies as conning paragraphs in 
the papers beginning "Boy Wanted." His 
second application was made at a little 
book and stationery store on Broadway, 
near Maiden lane, where he engaged him- 
self to do errands, sweep, etc., for which 
he was to receive a wage of $25 a year, 
and board in the family of his employer, 
Mr. George W. Bleecker, who lived over 
his store. For a short time he was en- 
gaged as a canvasser in the interest 
of a quarto monthly published by Mr. 
Bleecker, which took him on a cruise up 
the Hudson river. He was subsequently 



employed as first clerk in the Park Place 
House, an emporium of literature and art, 
and still later was general clerk and mes- 
senger for Mr. Jonathan Leavitt, in a two" 
story building at the corner of John street 
and Broadway, Mr. Leavitt being the 
leading publisher of theological and re- 
ligious books. About this time Mr. Daniel 
Appleton, founder of the great house of 
D. Appleton & Company, became con- 
nected with Mr. Leavitt. In that era an 
edition of one thousand copies of a new 
book was the average, and those of five 
hundred copies were as usual as any ex- 
ceeding two thousand. After Mr. Apple- 
ton had established his own business, he 
and Mr. Leavitt published jointly an 
edition of one thousand copies, including 
some four hundred pages, prepared by 
young Putnam, entitled "Chronology, an 
Introduction and Index to Universal His- 
tory," prepared originally by Mr. Putnam 
for his own benefit as a reference. It was 
his custom in those times to repair to the 
Mercantile Library, then recently opened, 
after the closing of the store where he 
was employed, which was usually after 
nine o'clock. He read almost exclusively 
works of history. In the shop of Mr. 
Leavitt he was advanced to two dollars 
a week, and after a few months to four 
dollars, and with this addition to his in- 
come he felt able to buy a seat in church. 
In 1833 he entered the employ of Wiley 
& Long, publishers and booksellers. In 
1840 he became a partner, and the firm 
was styled Wiley & Putnam, Mr. Wiley 
being about one year the senior of Mr. 
Putnam. At that time the Appletons and 
J. &. J. Harper were the leading pub- 
lishers in New York, and the principal 
retail booksellers were Stanford & Swords. 
A very large proportion of the books then 
sold in New York were imported from 
England. In the firm of Wiley & Put- 
nam the publishing division was in charge 
of the junior partner, while the senior 



370 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



gave his attention chiefly to the selling. 
Mr. Putnam held to the view that con- 
temporary authors should have their 
proper share in the publication of their 
works, and he became intimately associ- 
ated with Bryant, Matthews, Halleck, 
Cooper and Fay. In 1840 he made his 
first business journey to England, in 
the effort to establish a closer relation 
between the book trades of the two 
countries, and in 1841 he made a second 
journey to London and established a 
branch house in that city in Paternoster 
Row, the old-time center of the London 
book trade. The business of this agency 
was the sale of American books and the 
purchase of English publications for sale 
in the United States. Thus began the 
great publishing house, now having a 
world-wide reputation, and known as G. 
P. Putnam's Sons, and which still main- 
tains a London publication office. The 
firm of George P. Putnam was established 
in 1848, and in 1853 began the publication 
of "Putnam's Monthly." 

In 1862 Mr. Putnam received from 
President Lincoln appointment as Col- 
lector of Internal Revenue of New York, 
and this position he acceptably filled for 
three years. His activities in connection 
with the spread of literature and art were 
numerous, and he was a founder, and at 
the time of his death honorary superinten- 
dent, of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 
In 1872 he was chairman of the American 
committee on art at the Vienna Expo- 
sition. His literary work was early recog- 
nized by Bowdoin College, which con- 
ferred upon him in 1853 the honorary de- 
gree of A. M. The career of Mr. Putnam 
furnishes an excellent example of the fact 
that a liberal education is not indispen- 
sable in the development of one's best 
powers if he be an earnest and painstak- 
ing student. He was accustomed to refer 
humorously to the granting of this degree 
as a reward for his services in spreading 



the alarm on one occasion, when a fire 
broke out in the college buildings, at 
Brunswick, while he was a small boy. 

He married, in May, 1841, in New York, 
Victorine Haven, born in 1824, daughter 
of Joseph Haven and of his second wife, 
Mary Parsons Tuttle. Joseph Haven was 
a son of Samuel Haven, a merchant of 
Boston, and was engaged in the china 
trade in that city. He became broken in 
health and died while Mrs. Putnam was 
an infant. The children of George Palmer 
Putnam and Victorine Haven were : Mary 
Corinna, born 1842, married 1873, Abra- 
ham Jacobi, M.D. ; George Haven, born 
1844; Edith G., born 1846; John B., born 
1848; Amy v.. born 1850; Irving, bom 
1852; Bayard, born 1854; Kingman, born 
1856; Ruth, born i860; Herbert, born 
1862; Sidney, born 1869. 

Among the principal works issued by 
the father were: "American Facts," 
London and New York, 1846; "The 
World's Progress," a manual of historical 
reference. New York and London, 1832- 
1871 ; "Tabular Views of Universal His- 
tory" — this constitutes the second di- 
vision of the "The World's Progress," 
and has been issued in successive editions 
from 1832. Several of the children were 
possessed of literary taste and have con- 
tributed more or less to American litera- 
ture. The elder son was the author of: 
"The Question of Copyright," New York 
and London, 1892; "Authors and Their 
Public in Ancient Times," New York and 
London, 1898; "The Artificial Mother," 
1884, New York and London: "Books 
and Their Makers in the Middle Ages," 
1900, New York and London ; "The Cen- 
sorship of the Church, a Study of the Pro- 
hibitory and Expurgatory Indexes," with 
references to their influence on the pro- 
duction and distribution of books, two 
volumes. New York and London, 1906-07 ; 
"Authors and Publishers," a manual of 
suggestions for beginners in literature 



37 ^ 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



(written in cooperation with J. B. P.), 
1899, New York and London. He mar- 
ried Emily James Smith, dean of Barnard 
College. 

J. Bishop Putnam, another son, co- 
author of the last named above, is also 
the author of "A Norwegian Ramble." 
He is the founder and president of the 
Knickerbocker Press. 

Ruth Putnam is the author of "William 
the Silent," two volumes, 1900, New 
York, Amsterdam and London ; "Medieval 
Princess," 1905, New York and London ; 
"Charles the Bold of Burgundy," 1908, 
New York and London. 

Mary Putnam Jacobi, M.D., who died 
in 1905, had a distinguished career as a 
physician. She was the first woman to 
secure admission to and a degree from the 
School of Medicine in Paris. She was the 
author of a number of medical treatises, 
and was a constant contributor to the 
scientific journals. She was also an emi- 
nent orator. 

Herbert Putnam has been Librarian of 
Congress since March, 1899, and was 
librarian of the Boston Public Library, 
1895-99; was president of the American 



Br3'ant, ten years earlier. The hamlet 
in the hills was possessed of good schools 
and of citizens of culture and refinement, 
in which environment Luther was reared 
and received his preliminary education. 
Like Bryant, he matriculated at Williams 
College, from which he was graduated in 
1804 and honored with the degree of Doc- 
tor of Laws in 1855. He entered the legal 
profession and soon after his admission 
to the bar made an extended journey to 
the West Indies, South America and the 
British Islands. In 1814 he married 
Helen Elizabeth, daughter of George 
Gibbs, of Newport, Rhode Island, and. in 
October of that year, enlisted as a private 
in the State militia, serving two months 
on the Niagara frontier. After his dis- 
charge he taught school in the western 
part of the State for a short time. 

He first became identified with Frank- 
lin county in 181 5, by acquiring nearly 
twenty-four thousand acres of land (fifty 
cents per acre) in Moira, comprising all 
of the unsold public lands in the town. 
To this holding he added in 1816 eleven 
or twelve hundred acres in Bangor, and 
years later certain other tracts in the 



Library Association, 1898, 1904; and has county and in St. Lawrence, disposing of 



published many articles in reviews and 
professional journals. 



BRADISH, Luther, 

Land Owner, Parliamentarian, Philanthro- 
pist. 

Luther Bradish, well known as an ex- 
tensive landowner in Northern New 
York, a liberal philanthropist, an accom- 
plished parliamentarian and an eminently 
pure-minded politician, was born at Cum- 
mington, Hampshire county, Massachu- 
setts, September 15, 1783, the son of Colo- 
nel John Bradish, from whom he inher- 
ited a goodly estate. Cummington was 
also the birthplace of William Cullen 



them, from time to time, and selling the 
remainder in 1835 for $53,915.36. In 
1816 he was afflicted by the loss of his 
wife, a charming woman, who remained 
to him a precious memory for many 
years. He continued his residence in New 
York, with frequent visitations to Frank- 
lin county, with the view of developing 
his property, for the ensuing four years. 
In 1820, in order to acquaint himself 
with the country and commerce of the 
Levant, and charged by President Mon- 
roe with a special mission to collect and 
communicate information preliminary to 
the consummation of a treaty of amicable 
and commercial relations with the Sub- 
lime Porte, he sailed on the "Columbus," 



372 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Commodore Bainbridge's flagship, for 
Constantinople ; and, there, after occupy- 
ing himself for five or six months in ar- 
ranging details, meanwhile combatting 
the jealousy of several European lega- 
tions, he perfected a plan, approved by 
the Washington administration, which, 
resolved into a definite treaty, was rati- 
fied by the two governments — a notable 
diplomatic achievement. 

Having accomplished his main purpose, 
he remained abroad six years, visiting 
many lands and receiving marked courte- 
sies in court circles, with considerable 
residences in various continental captials. 
His travels led him through Syria, Egypt, 
the Balkan States. Hungary. Austria, 
Italy, Switzerland, Russia, Poland, the 
German kingdoms and principalities, and 
Great Britain. He finally embarked at 
Havre for New York, where he arrived in 
the fall of 1826, after an interesting ex- 
perience and a memorable service. The 
story is related at length in the Septem- 
ber, 1863, number of the "Eclectic Maga- 
zine." accompanied by his protrait in his 
old age, which shows him as a man of 
massive head and large frame ; smooth 
shaven, except for slight side whiskers ; 
forehead high with hair brushed back, un- 
parted ; with a kindly, almost smiling 
countenance, suggestive in every line of 
strength. 

Shortly after his return to this country 
he settled on his estate in Moira, near the 
site of the present village, and thereon 
erected an elegant mansion and dispensed 
a gracious hospitality, though probably 
with less of social activity and display 
than his position and wide acquaintance 
would have induced, had there been a 
Mrs. Bradish to adorn the home. He 
received a cordial welcome from his 
townsmen and, with his imposing pres- 
ence, courtly manners, benign considera- 
tion for others, entertaining reminiscences 



of travel and his scholastic, legal and polit- 
ical attainments, he was at once a popular 
leader and exercised a commanding influ- 
ence. Within a year he was elected to 
the Assembly and served therein in 1828, 
1829 and 1830, acquiring a reputation 
as one of its clearest and strongest de- 
baters. Hammond, the historian, a politi- 
cal opponent, declares that "no purer man 
ever lived," and another writer styles him 
"the finished gentleman." He acted with 
the Adams party, sustaining that Presi- 
dent's administration. He became an 
anti-Mason and was, in the fall of 1830, 
the candidate of that party for Congress 
in the Nineteenth District, composed of 
Clinton, Essex, Franklin and Warren 
counties, but anti-Masonry was far less 
acceptable in northern than in western 
New York, and he was defeated by Wil- 
liam Hogan, a Jackson Democrat. In 
1833 he was an unsuccessful nominee for 
the State Senate; but, in 1835, he was 
again, as a Whig, elected to the Assem- 
bly, and was reelected for the two ensuing 
terms. In 1837 he was the candidate of 
his party for speaker, and became the 
leader of the minority upon the floor ; 
and, in 1838, when four-fifths of the As- 
sembly were Whigs. Bradish was elected 
speaker — the only member from Frank- 
lin who has ever been thus honored. His 
record is that of an unusually able speak- 
er, dignified in deportment, thoroughly 
equipped as a parliamentarian, and firm 
and fair in his rulings at a time of much 
political excitement. 

His desert as a speaker, with the popu- 
larity that ensued, made him, in the 
esteem of the northern counties, an avail- 
able c.^nddate for Governor in 1838. and 
he received in the Whig State convention 
a considerable vote therefor, but Seward, 
skillfully presented by Weed and backed 
by the younger element of the party, was 
preferred. Bradish. however, was, with 



373 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



much acclaim, named for Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor and, in the tremendous Whig vic- 
tory of that eventful year, was elected by 
about 10,000 majority. He was, with 
Governor Seward, reelected in 1840. As 
Lieutenant-Governor he confirmed and 
appreciated his standing as a presiding 
ofificer, the excellence of his character en- 
hancing the public regard. He was also 
vice-chancellor of the university in 1842. 
In that year he was the logical candidate 
of his party for Governor, and was nomi- 
nated accordingly ; but it was a year as 
grievous for the Whigs, vexed by the 
conduct of Tyler and disturbed by un- 
warranted criticism of Seward's economic 
policy, as 1838 and 1840 had been jubilant 
for them ; and Bradish was defeated by 
Governor Bouck, without the slightest 
reflection upon him personally, as there 
could be none, l-fe held no further politi- 
cal position, save that under Fillmore, 
he was — 1851-52 — Assistant Treasurer of 
the United States at New York. 

In 1839 Governor Bradish married 
Mary Elizabeth, daughter of Peter G. 
Hart, of New York City, and by this 
marriage had one child, a daughter. 
About four years later he moved to 
Throg's Neck, Westchester county, and 
for the remainder of his life was actively 
enlisted in the promotion of educational, 
reformatory and philanthropic institu- 
tions. In 1845 he was elected first vice- 
president of the New York Historical 
Society, and on the death of the Hon. Al- 
bert Gallatin became its tenth president, 
January 2, 1850, holding until his death, 
and laying, October 17, 1855, the corner- 
stone of its present magnificent building. 
In 1847 '^s was elected vice-president of 
the American Bible Society and succeed- 
ed the Hon. Theodore Frelinghuysen as 
president in 1862. He was also an honor- 
ary member of the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society. Governor Bradish died 



at Newport, Rhode Island, August 
1863, having nearly completed 
eightieth year. 



30> 

his 



TAYLOR, John W., 

LiCfwyeT, Natioual Legislator. 

John W. Taylor, who enjoyed the dis- 
tinction of being the only speaker of the 
House of Representatives who has hailed 
from the State of New York,* was born 
March 26, 1784, at Charlton, Saratoga 
county. New York, son of Judge John 
and Chloe (Cox) Taylor. 

He was educated at Union College, 
from which he was graduated in his nine- 
teenth year. He studied law at Albany, 
was admitted to the bar in 1807, and 
entered upon practice at Ballston, New 
York. In the year following his gradu- 
ation, he was elected a justice of the 
peace, and later he was made State Com-- 
missioner of Loans. He was an ardent 
friend of education, and was the organ- 
izer of the Ballston Centre Academy. In 
181 1 he was elected to the Assembly and 
reelected in 1812, and while yet a member 
of that body was elected as a Democrat 
to Congress, in which he served by suc- 
cessive reelections from 1813 to 1833, 
a period of twenty years, and being 
speaker for the second session of the 
Sixteenth Congress, during the passage 
of the Missouri Compromise bill, which 
he resolutely opposed. "Whoever reads 
Taylor's speeches in that troubled 
period," says Henry B. Stanton (Random 
Recollections, p. 164), "will find them as 
sound in doctrine, as strong in argument, 
as splendid in diction, as any of the utter- 
ances of the following forty-five years, 



This i.« substantially, but not exactly true. It 
is an interesting^ fact, not generally appreciated, 
that the dav before the Fortieth Congress ex- 
pired, March 3. 1869. Schuyler Colfax, who had 
been elected vice-president, resigned as speaker, 
and Theodore M. Pomeroy, of the Twenty-fourth 
New York Dl.strict, was formally elected speaker, 
serving one day. 



374 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



when the thirteenth amendment closed 
the controversy for all time." He was 
also elected to the Ninteenth Congress. 
After his retirement from Congress he re- 
sumed his law practice in Ballston Spa. 
He was one of the organizers of the Na- 
tional Republican party, and afterward 
affiliated with the Whig party. In 1841- 
42 he was a member of the State Senate, 
but resigned on account of a paralytic 
stroke. He accompanied Lafayette through 
New England on his last tour, and in 1827 
delivered the annual address before the 
Phi Beta Kappa Society of Harvard Col- 
lege. 

He was married, at Albany, in 1806, to 
Jane Hodge, who died in 1838. Follow- 
ing his decline in health, he removed in 
1843 *^o Cleveland. Ohio, where he died. 
September 8, 1854. 



CAMBRELING, Churchill C, 

National liegislator. Diplomat. 

Churchill Caldain Cambrelingwas born 
in Washington, Beaufort county. North 
Carolina, in 1786, and received an aca- 
demical education at Newberne, in the 
same State. In 1802 he located in New 
York City and engaged as a clerk in a 
mercantile house, and later followed the 
same pursuit at Providence, Rhode 
Island. He then returned to New Y'ork 
City, where he entered the employ of 
John Jacob Astor, for whom as a confi- 
dential agent he visited various foreign 
countries. He later engaged in business 
for himself as a member of the New York 
firm of Cambreling & Pearson. 

Mr. Cambreling was elected as a Dem- 
ocrat to the Seventeenth Congress, and 
was eight times reelected, his term of 
service extending from 1821 to 1839, serv- 
ing on various of the most important 
committees, and being chairman of those 
on commerce, ways and means, and 



foreign affairs, and recognized as the 
leader on the floor, firm and irrepressible, 
of the administration forces. Under ap- 
pointment by President Van Buren he 
served as Minister to Russia from May, 
1840, to July, 1841. In 1846 he was a prom- 
inent member of the New York State 
Constitutional Convention. Throughout 
his political career he was a stout sup- 
porter of the fortunes and policies of Mar- 
tin \'an Buren, a rock of defense while he 
was President and a zealous champion 
for his reelection in 1840 ; and was chair- 
man of the Barnburners State convention 
at Syracuse in 1847. which seceded from 
the main convention, controlled by the 
Hunkers, when it laid upon the table the 
resolution approving the Wilmot pro- 
viso; and conspicuous in the Barnburn- 
ers convention at Utica in 1848 that repu- 
diated the candidacy of General Cass and 
led to the fusion with the Free Soilers 
that resulted in the defeat of Cass for the 
Presidency. He was a man of command- 
ing influence, and the author of numerous 
political pamphlets and reports on vari- 
ous subjects, one of which on commerce 
and navigation, published in 1830, passed 
through several editions and was repub- 
lished in London. 

Mr. Cambreling died at West Neck, 
Long Island, April 30, 1862. 



McDOUGALL, Alexander, 

Revolutionary Soldier. 

General Alexander McDougall, a sol- 
dier of the Revolution, and the first presi- 
dent of the New York Society of the Cin- 
cinnati, was born on the island of Islay, 
Scotland, son of Ronald and Elizabeth 
McDougall, who emigrated to New York 
in 1755, and engaged in dairy farming 
on Manhattan Island. 

During the war with France, Alex- 
ander McDougall at dilTerent times com- 



37: 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



manded two letters-of-marque vessels — 
the "Tiger" and "Barrington." After 
peace was restored he engaged in mer- 
cantile pursuits in New York, at the same 
time taking part in public affairs. He 
was among the earliest to manifest a 
revolutionary spirit, and in December. 
1769, was the author of the celebrated 
handbill signed "Son of Liberty," and ad- 
dressed to "the betrayed inhabitants of 
the colony," in which he warmly de- 
nounced the Assembly for providing 
means for supporting the British soldiers 
quartered in the town, and for refusing 
to pass a proposition providing for vot- 
ing by ballot. The handbill called a meet- 
ing of the people on the following day, 
"at the liberty pole in the fields" — the 
tract now known as City Hall Park — and 
the responding multitude gave warm ap- 
proval to the sentiments enunciated. A 
second handbill afterward appeared 
signed "Legion." of similar tenor, and the 
authorities offered a reward for the identi- 
fication of the author of the "infamous and 
seditious libel." Betrayed by the printer, 
McDougall was taken into custody and, 
refusing to plead or give bail, he was sent 
to jail, while uttering his defiance, "I re- 
joice that I am the first to suffer for liberty 
since the commencement of our glorious 
struggle." He lay in confinement in the 
debtors' prison five months, but time was 
not allowed to hang heavy on his hands. 
He was visited by hundreds of people, 
among them men and women of high 
social position ; patriotic songs were svmg 
in his hearing, and at the anniversary of 
the repeal of the Stamp Act, a delegation 
visited the jail to dine with him. Later he 
was released on bail, but was never put on 
trial. On July 6, 1774. he presided at the 
"great meeting in the fields," where patri- 
otic resolutions were adopted, among them 
one by himself, pronouncing for non-im- 
portation from Great Britain. He had 



drawn the latter resolution, and he sup- 
ported it in a vigorous address. He was a 
member of the committee of one hundred 
in May, 1775, to organize a provisional city 
government, and aided in the organization 
of the first New York regiment, of which 
he was made colonel in June following. 
In August, 1776, he was promoted to 
brigadier-general, and to major-general 
in October, 1777. He was in action near 
White Plains, and in New Jersey; and at 
Peekskill in charge of military supplies. 
He was engaged in the battle of German- 
town ; in 1778 commanded posts on the 
Hudson river, and at West Point from 
July 19 to December 6, 1779, and at in- 
tervals until January, 1782. He was a 
member of the Provincial Convention in 
April, 1775, "to concert and determine 
upon such measures as shall be judged 
most effectual for the preservation and 
re-establishment of American rights and 
privileges, and for the restoration of har- 
mony between Great Britain and her 
colonies," and to elect delegates to the 
Continental Congress, of which he was a 
member in 1780-84-85. In 1782 he de- 
clined the appointment of Minister of 
Marine, preferring military duty. In 
1783 he was elected to the State Senate, 
of which he was a member vmtil his 
death. He was the first president of the 
New York Society of the Cnicinnati, and 
first president of the Bank of New York. 
Washington characterized him as "a brave 
soldier and distinguished patriot." 

He married, in 1751, while on a visit to 
Scotland, Nancy, daughter of Stephen 
McDougall. Their sons died unmarried, 
and in military service — John in the Can- 
ada expedition in 1775, and Ronald from 
injuries received in the field in 1786. Eliz- 
abeth, the only daughter, became the wife 
of the distinguished jurist John Law- 
rence. General McDougall died in New 
York City, June 9, 1786, and his remains 



376 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



were laid in the family vault of the Mc- 
Dougall, Lawrence and Hawkes families 
in the First Presbyterian Church, Fifth 
avenue and Twelfth street, New York. 
Tablets to his memory were placed in 
that church, and in the chapel of the 
United States Military Academy at West 
Point. 



GEDDES, James, 

Civil Engineer, Legislator. 

James Geddes, a pioneer agitator for 
canal construction in the State of New 
York, was born near Carlisle, Pennsyl- 
vania, of Scotch ancestry, July 22, 1763. 
He had his educational training in the 
neighborhood schools, and was especially 
noted for his proficiency in Latin, Greek 
and mathematics. The family removed 
to Onondaga county, New York, in 1794, 
and the town which grew up about them 
received the family name. He had already 
erected a salt manufactory at Salina — a 
pioneer in that industry. He took up the 
study of law, and entered upon practice. 
He was a member of Assembly in 1804 
and 1822. From the beginning of the agi- 
tation for canal building. Judge Geddes 
took a prominent part, and, having a prac- 
tical knowledge of civil engineering, was 
engaged in 1808 to make surveys for 
routes from Oneida Lake to Lake Ontario, 
down the Oswego river, and from Lewis- 
ton to the Niagara river, and eastward 
from Buffalo to the Seneca river, all of 
which he accomplished with an outlay of 
only a little over six hundred dollars. 
Having reported the practicability of a 
canal from Lake Erie to the Hudson river, 
he devoted himself exclusively to his new 
profession, serving, however, as a repre 
sentative in 



miles, which was phenomenally accurate, 
the variance being only one and a half 
inches in the entire line. In 1818 he be- 
came chief engineer of the Champlain 
canal ; in 1822 was engaged by the State 
of Ohio to make a survey for a canal 
from the Ohio river to Lake Erie ; and 
the following year reported upon a canal 
in Maine from Sebago Pond to West- 
brook. He was employed by the United 
States government in 1827 to investigate 
routes for the proposed Chesapeake and 
Ohio canal, and the next year was en- 
gaged in similar work in Penn.sylvania. 
In the same year he declined a proposi- 
tion by the national government to report 
upon the feasibility of canal connection 
between the Tennessee and Alabama 
rivers. In his day, in all matters relating 
to the laying out, designing and con- 
structing of canals, he was regarded as 
one of the principal authorities in the 
country. He died at Fairmount, in the 
town of New Geddes, where he had a fine 
mansion and a model farm, August 19, 
1838. His son George was State Sena- 
tor (1848-51), and superintendent of the 
Onondaga Salt Springs (1865-71). 



HAMMOND, Jabez D.. 

Legislator, Anthor. 

Jabez Delno Hammond, author of a 
number of invaluable works relating to 
the political history of the State of New 
York, was a native of Massachusetts, 
born in New Bedford, August 2, 1778, 
and a lineal descendant of Benjamin 
Hammond, who came to New England in 
1634. 

He received an ordinary school educa- 



tion, but proved a precocious student, 
the" Thirteenth Congress, and at the age of fifteen began to teach 
1813-15 After having been engaged in the school, devoting his spare hours to the 
construction of the Erie canal, in 1816 he study of medicine, with such success that 
conducted a test level between Rome and in the year he attained his majority he en- 
Oneida Lake, a distance of one hundred tered upon practice in Readmg, Vermont. 

377 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Soon, however, he abandoned the pro- 
fession for the law, and in 1805 removed 
to Cherry Valley, New York, where he 
was admitted to the bar and engaged in 
practice. In 1815 he was elected as a 
Democrat to the Fourteenth Congress. 
He was a State Senator from 1818 to 
1822, and a member of the Council of 
Appointment in 1818. On the completion 
of his term of office he removed to Al- 
bany, where he practiced his profession 
until 1830. In 1825 he was appointed 
commissioner for the State of New York 
to settle claims against the United States 
government. A great part of the year 
183 1 he spent abroad, for the restoration 
of his health, then returned to Cherry 
Valley, where he was elected county 
judge in 1838. He was a regent of the 
University of New York from 1845 until 
1843. His published works comprise: 
"The Political History of New York to 
December, 1840" (1843), a valuable au- 
thority, a standard work, remarkably im- 
partial in tone for one who had been so 
active a politician ; "Life and Opinions of 
Julius Melbourn" (1847) ; "Life of Silas 
Wright" (1848); and "Evidence, Inde- 
pendent of Written Revelation, of the Im- 
mortality of the Soul" (1851). Union Col- 
lege conferred upon him the honorary de- 
gree of Master of Arts in 1826, and Hamil- 
ton College that of Doctor of Laws in 
1845. He died in Cherry Valley, New 
York, August 18, 1855. He was through- 
out his political career a warm admirer 
and a consistent adherent of DeWitt Clin- 
ton. 

CONKLING, Alfred, 

Jnrist, Anthor, Diplomat. 

Judge Alfred Conkling, who left an en- 
during monument in his professional 
service and writings, was born at Ama- 
gansett, New York, October 12, 1789, son 
of Benjamin and Esther (Hand) Conk- 
ling. His ancestors emigrated from Eng- 
land early in the seventeenth century. 



He was graduated from Union College, 
studied law under Hon. Daniel Cady, Jus- 
tice of the Supreme Court of New York, 
and was admitted to the bar in 1812. He 
located for practice in Canajoharie, New 
York, and built up a successful business, 
but was soon entered upon a public 
career. In 1818 he was elected district 
attorney for Montgomery county, serv- 
ing as such for three years. In 1820, as 
an anti-Jackson Democrat, he was elected 
to the Seventeenth Congress. He re- 
moved to Albany, and in 1825 President 
Adams appointed him to the bench of the 
United States Court for the Northern 
District of New York, and from which 
position he resigned, after twenty-seven 
years' service, to accept appointment by 
President Fillmore as United States Min- 
ister to Mexico, and which station he 
occupied but one year. He then took up 
his residence in Omaha, Nebraska, where 
he practiced his profession until 1861, 
when he returned to New York, residing 
successively in Rochester, Geneseo and 
Rochester. His later years were princi- 
pally devoted to literary pursuits. He 
wrote several volumes of more than ordi- 
nary value; embracing: "The Young 
Citizen's Manual" (1836) ; "A Treatise 
on the Organization and Jurisdiction of 
the Supreme, Circuit and District Courts 
of the United States" (1842) ; "Jurisdic- 
tion, Law and Practice in Admiralty and 
Maritime Causes" (1848) ; "Powers of 
the Executive Department of the United 
States" (1866). He died February 5, 1874. 

Judge Conkling married Eliza Cock- 
burn, and among their children was Ros- 
coe Conkling.* .\ daughter. Margaret 



•It is said that when living in Geneseo he was 
aslied to preside at a public meeting and was 
pre.sented as the "father of Roscoe Conkling" 
and upon takinK the chair he remarked: "I have 
had the honor of representing my district In the 
National Congress, of serving for many years 
on the Ijenoh of the United States Court, and of 
being commissioned as Minister to a neighbor- 
ing republic, but it has been reserved for my 
declining years to be introduced to an audience 
of my fellow citizens simply as the father of 
Roscoe Conkling!" 



378 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Cockburn Conkling (Mrs. Steele), was a 
well known author. She wrote "Memoirs 
of the Mother and Wife of Washington," 
"Isabel, or Trials of the Heart ;" trans- 
lated Florian's "History of the Moors in 
Spain ;"' and frequently contributed to 
periodical literature. 



JORDAN, Ambrose L., 

Lawyer, Legislator. 

Ambrose Latting Jordan, distinguished 
as a lawyer, jurist and orator, was born 
May 5, 1789, at Hillsdale, Columbia coun- 
ty. New York, of Scotch-Irish parentage. 
He had early aspirations for a profes- 
sional career, and while engaged on the 
farm, devoted his nights to study. He 
afterward attended an academy, defray- 
ing his expense by teaching school at in- 
tervals. At the age of eighteen he took 
up the study of law in Albany, and when 
he attained his majority was admitted to 
the bar. He at once entered upon a suc- 
cessful practice at Cooperstown, New 
York, and was surrogate of Otsego coun- 
ty (1815-18) and district attorney (1818- 
30.) In 1820 he located in Hudson. The 
next year he was made recorder of the 
town, and three years later was an un- 
successful candidate for circuit judge. In 
1825 he was a member of Assembly from 
Columbia county, and a Senator from the 
third district from 1826 until 1829, resign- 
ing in January of that year. As a Sena- 
tor he was able and useful, especially in 
his capacity as a member of the Court of 
Errors. He was a delegate to the Con- 
stitutional Convention of 1846, and a mem- 
ber of the judiciary committee ot that 
body, composed of its most eminent 
lawyers. He did not sign the constitution 
as adopted by the convention. He was as 
a Whig. Attorney-General in 1848-49, the 
first of the elective order, as provided by 
the nev^' constitution. In 1838 he removed 



to New York City, where he followed his 
profession with brilliant success for a 
period of twenty years. While living in 
Columbia county he served in the As- 
sembly, and subsequently in the State 
Senate. A contemporaneous biographer 
said that "his style of oratory was of the 
highest order, his manner dignified and 
commanding, his diction vigorous and ele- 
gant." 

General Jordan married, in 1813, Caro- 
line Cornelia Philips, of Claverack, New 
York. He died in New York City. July 
16. 1865. 



*HATHORN, John, 

Soldier, Legislator. 

John Hathorn, a Revolutionary soldier 
and patriot, was born January 9, 1/49. 
at Wilmington, Delaware. Hathorn was 
the common ancient spelling of the name. 
Some of kindred descent dropped the first 
syllable and made it simply Thorn ; and 
Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author, 
changed the name of the old sea-cai>tain 
of the family by inserting the letter '"w," 
and adding the letter "e." 

John Hathorn came in early life, pre- 
vious to 1770, to Warwick, New York, 
and was said to have been of Quaker 
family. As a military man, he did not 
hold the principle of non-resistance, yet 
in his later life he invited Quaker preach- 
ers to hold meetings in his house. 
Hathorn was a land-surveyor, and his 
occupation first brought him to War- 
wick, where he married Elizabeth, 
daughter of Thomas Welling, and settled 
upon the farm adjoining that of his 
father-in-law. His wife was born at 
Jamaica. Long Island. 

Hathorn was public-spirited, and an 
ardent patriot; and. after holding sub- 



•From an .iddre.ss delivered before the Mlni- 
.«ink Valley Historical Society In 1889, by the 
Rev. \. A. Haines. 



379 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



ordinate positions, was appointed colonel 
of a regiment of Orange county militia 
about May, 1775. His stone house is 
still standing in excellent preservation, 
bearing on its southern gable the date 
of 1773. This house was licensed as an 
inn, and here General Washington was 
entertained when in the vicinity. It is 
said that when a portion of the army was 
here encamped, General and Mrs. Wash- 
ington spent some days in this house, 
while Indians were prowling around 
seeking an opportunity to shoot him. 
General Hathorn was very erect, and 
preserved a military bearing, becoming 
stout in advanced life. He wore breeches 
and silver knee-buckles, and, when in full 
dress, top boots. During the Revolution, 
with his regiment, he performed excel- 
lent service in resisting the raids of 
Tories and freebooters, and keeping them 
in awe. He was frequently called upon 
for details of men for military service 
and guard duty. In his report on the 
battle of Minisink, made to General 
George Clinton, July 25, 1779, he says, 
"On the evening of the 21st of this in- 
stant I received an order from His Ex- 
cellency General Washington, together 
with a requisition of the commissary of 
prisoners, to furnish one hundred men to 
guard the British prisoners on their way 
to Easton. I ordered three companies 
of my regiment, including the exempt 
company, to parade for this purpose." 
The making of this detail accounts for 
the small number of men he took to the 
Minisink conflict. When Burgoyne sur- 
rendered, there were questions raised by 
General Howe as to the terms of their 
parole, and Congress ordered that, until 
these were settled, the prisoners should 
be retained and sent to the interior of the 
country. 

The battle of Minisink has been ably 
described by others, and we will only 



make some reference to the part taken by 
Colonel Hathorn. Dr. Benjamin Tusten, 
lieutenant-colonel of the Goshen regi- 
ment under General Allison, with such 
men of the Orange county militia as he 
could hastily collect, and a small force of 
Sussex county troops under Major 
Samuel Meeker, and Captain Joseph 
Harker, of Hardyston, made a forced 
march for the scene of hostilities. 
Hathorn, with his accustomed ardor, 
with such additional men of his War- 
wick regiment as he could gather, fol- 
lowed rapidly, and, when he overtook the 
advanced force, as senior officer assumed 
command. 

The prudence of Tusten and Hathorn 
was overcome by the rashness of Meeker ; 
yet I do not believe, as has been asserted, 
that in the time of extremity Meeker 
failed in courage or in readiness to obey 
orders. Major Meeker was wounded as 
well as Captain Harker, and nearly a 
fourth of the men who fell were of their 
command. The names of Captains Ste- 
phen Mead, David Tallmadge, Nathan 
Wade, Hardyston men, are inscribed upon 
the monument at Goshen. Corporal Elia- 
kim Ross, of the Sussex county troops, 
died from wounds then received, and Lieu- 
tenant James Patton was discharged by 
reason of wounds received probably at the 
same time. Colonel Hathorn, in his report, 
said he had 120 men, while Dr. Wilson, 
in his address in 1822, says 80. This may 
be accounted for on the supposition that 
the 80 were the Orange county militia, 
and the rest were from Sussex county. 
Hathorn was uncertain as to the number 
of the enemy, but said : "Some say 90, 
others, 120; others, j6o." That 300 
Indians and 200 Tories took part in the 
conflict must be an exaggeration. 

When the attack was to be made, 
Hathorn divided his men into three 
divisions, but before his dispositions 



380 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



were complete, Brandt surprised them by 
a sudden assault. By this the rear 
divisions were cut off from the main body 
and forced to break in confusion and fall 
back. With what forces remained to him, 
Hathorn was pressed upon a rocky knoll, 
where, on the summit, they had little 
more than an acre of space. The men 
had a short supply of ammunition from 
the beginning, and Hathorn gave orders 
not to fire unless they were sure of their 
aim. They continued to hold the hill until 
near sunset, when their powder was 
spent, and they clubbed their muskets 
for a hand-to-hand contest. Hathorn 
said that "when their hollow square was 
broken in the final struggle, ever)' man 
made choice of his own way." Although 
the battle Minisink ended disastrously, 
Hathorn did not suffer in the estimation 
of his fellow citizens. He was entrusted 
with various important duties during the 
remainder of the war, and at its close 
was in command of the troops stationed 
at Fishkill. He represented Orange 
county in the Assembly, with some inter- 
vals, for eight years from 1777 to 1785, 
and was speaker of that body in 1784. 
In 1788 he was one of the five members 
sent from New York to the Continental 
Congress, and attended at its last session. 
From 1787 to 1804 he was for eight years 
of the time a State Senator, and elected 
to Congress for two years in 1788, and re- 
elected in 1790. He was a confidential 
correspondent of Washington, was on 
intimate terms with many distinguished 
men of his day, and carefully preserved 
his papers. After his death his papers 
were placed in barrels in the attic, and, 
later, were consigned to the flames as 
worthless. Doubtless much valuable 
material was thus destroyed. On July 
22, 1822, General Hathorn, then vener- 
able with the weight of his seventy-three 
years, laid the corner-stone of the monu- 



ment erected in Goshen to those who fell 
at Minisink, and delivered an appropriate 
address. 

General Hathorn had potash works, a 
blacksmith's shop, a wood shop, a store, 
and I think a tannery, with numerous 
small dwellings for his workmen, all in 
the vicinity of his home. One of his 
descendants said that he had a small 
town of his own. For some years he was 
in business with the Sharps in the iron 
manufacture, and was clerk or super- 
intendent of the Sharpboro forge in 
upper Hamburg. This was subsequent 
to the Revolutionary War, but the date, 
or length of time he was thus engaged, I 
am unable to give. He died February 
19, 1825, and was buried beside his wife, 
in the spot he had selected, in a field in 
the rear of the house where he dwelt. 
It has been proposed to remove his re- 
mains to the new cemetery and to erect 
there a suitable monument to his memory 
by the citizens of Warwick ; or, what may 
be better, to place the monument on the 
spot where his dust has slept for over 
sixty years. 

The children of John and Elizabeth 
Hathorn were six sons and five daugh- 
ters. 



WATTS, John, 

Jurist, Iiegislator. 

John Watts was born in New York 
City, August 27, 1749, son of John and 
Ann (DeLancey) Watts; grandson of 
Robert and Mary (Nicoll) Watts (mar- 
tied circa 1706) who emigrated from 
Scotland at the close of the seventeenth 
century; and of Stephen and Anne (Van 
Cortlandt) De Lancey. and a descendant 
of the famous John Watt, of Rose Hill, 
Lord of Session, judge of commissary or 
probate, who by his courage and energy 
saved James VI. of Scotland from murder 



381 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



in 1596, and Edinburgh from military 
execution. His father, John, was a dele- 
gate to the New York Assembly, a 
member and president of the council, 
1757-75. and first president of the New- 
York City Hospital. 

John Watts, the subject of this sketch, 
was the last recorder of New York under 
the crown ; was member of Assemljly 
1790-91-92 and '93, and speaker the last 
session ; a representative from New York 
in the Third Congress, 1793-95, ^"^ 
judge of Westchester county, 1802-08. 
He was married, October 2, 1775, to nis 
cousin Jane, youngest daughter of Peter 
and Elizabeth (daughter of Governor 
Colden) De Lancey. His son, Robert J. 
Watts, was a nephew of John G. Leake, 
of New York City, and, when the latter 
died, he left his extensive properties to 
Robert J. Watts, on condition that he 
should change his name to Leake. Soon 
after accepting the property, the younger 
Watts-Leake died, and his father, John 
Watts, would not incorporate the prop- 
erty thus acquired with his own, but 
applied the money to founding and en- 
dowing the Leake and Watts Orphan 
House in New York City, which in 1887 
was removed to South Yonkers, the 
property in New York passing to the 
Cathedral of St. John the Divine. His 
youngest daughter, Mary Justine, was 
married. May 15, 1820, to Frederick de 
Peyster. In 1898 a heroic bronze statue 
iiy George E Bissell was erected in 
Trinity churchyard, by his grandson, 
General John Watts de Peyster. He 
died in New York City, September 3, 
1836. 



BARSTOW, Gamaliel H., 

Jndge, Legislator, Financial Officer. 

Gamaliel H. Barstow was born in 
Sharon, Litchfield county, Connecticut, 
July 20, 1784. His ancestors were early 



settlers of Plymouth colony, the judge 
being the seventh in descent from Wil- 
liam Barstow, who emigrated from York- 
shire, England, in 1635. Gamaliel lived 
with his father until he was twenty-five 
years of age, farming in the summer and 
teaching school in the winter months. In 
1809, he began the study of medicine with 
his brother Samuel at Great Barrington, 
Massachusetts. In 1812, he moved to 
Nichols village in Tioga county, erecting 
the first house in the place and entering 
upon the practice of his profession, which 
he pursued successfully until 1823, when 
he turned his attention to trading and 
farming. Frugal in his habits, method- 
ical in business and conforming to the 
highest standards of morality, he soon 
acquired a competent estate. Aleanwhile, 
he engaged actively in politics, toward 
which he had a natural inclination. At 
first, a JefTersonian Republican, and a 
pronounced adherent of DeWitt Clinton, 
he later became a champion of Adams, 
and still later passed through anti- 
Masonry into fellowship with the Whigs, 
wielding throughout a large influence in 
the .State, as well as locally. 

In the fall of 1815, he was elected as a 
Clintonian to the Assembly, and re- 
elected in 1816 and 1817. In that body 
he was recognized as a leader from the 
first, potent in debate, with fire and force 
of speech, frank and unsparing in both 
argument and invective, and commanding 
in presence. From 1819 until 1822 he 
was a Senator from the western district, 
then an immense territory embracing 
nearly one-half of the State. In 1824 and 
in 1827 he was again returned to the As- 
sembly from Tioga. Upon nomination 
of Governor Clinton and the approval of 
the Council of Appointment he was 
designated (June, 1818) the first judge 
of Tioga county, retaining the office until 
1823. Although not a lawyer, as under 
the Constitution of 1777 it was not neces- 



382 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



sary that he should be, he seems to have 
made an excellent judge. In 1825, he 
was appointed by Governor Clinton 
treasurer of the State, serving for a single 
year. He was a representative in the 
Twenty-second Congress. In 1836, he 
was nominated for Lieutenant-Governor 
by the Whigs, with which party he was 
then conspicuously affiliated ; but it was 
the year in which the Democratic party, 
at the period of expansion and inflation 
preceding the collapse of 1837, was on the 
crest of the wave of popularity, and 
Judge Piarstow sufifered defeat with his 
ticket, which was headed by Jesse Duel. 
Two years later, he again became State 
Treasurer, serving but a single year, 
when he resigned and definitely retired 
from politics save that, for a time, he con- 
sented to act as local magistrate and as 
supervisor of his town. He had fulfilled 
all his official duties with scrupulous 
fidelity, and secured enduring repute as 
a legislator, especially prominent on the 
fioor. In his retirement, Hammond, the 
author of the "Political History of New 
York," was greatly indebted in his com- 
pilation of that work to the accurate 
memory of his friend and compeer for 
facts and suggestions, and speaks of him 
as "an experienced legislator, a vigilant, 
faithful and competent State officer, and 
a man of high moral integrity, correct 
business habits, yet of consummate 
shrewdness and sagacity." An obituary 
published in the "New York State Agri- 
cultural Journal" says: 

During the period of fifty-three years that has 
passed since his settlement in the Susquehanna 
valley, he has seen it transformed from almost a 
wilderness to a lovely and fertile country and 
filled with an industrious and enterprising popu- 
lation. He has outlived all his contemporaries 
and lived to see another, and yet another, grow 
up around him, all of whom would probably class 
him among their earliest recollections. For 
many years he has been like an ancient and 
venerable tree which stands alone of all the 



forest, fine and vigorous in spite of the storms 
of many winters, but which finally yields to the 
destroyer, to be long missed as a landmark far 
and near. He was a patriot in the noblest sense 
of the word; and this great and terrible rebel- 
lion gave him sore grief and trouble. He re- 
joiced over the victories of Sherman and Sher- 
idan, expiring just before Grant's victorious 
army entered Richmond. 

About the middle of March, 1865, the 
Susquehanna Valley was visited by one 
of the most disastrous inundations known 
to its history. All that part of Nichols 
where Judge Barstow lived suffered 
greatly, and the exposure and excitement 
consequent upon it caused an attack of 
erysipelas, which terminated fatally on 
the thirtieth of the month, in the eighty- 
first year of his age. "Little Tioga," 
rather famous for its political heroes, 
cherishes no memory more lasting, as no 
life was more highly respected than that 
of Judge Barstow. The Barstow family 
is still prominent in the Southern Tier. 



WISNER, Henry, 

Patriot of the Revelation. 

Henry Wisner not only took an im- 
portant part in political affairs prior to 
and during the Revolution, but he per- 
formed invaluable services in providing 
munitions of war and forwarding work 
on the Hudson river defenses. 

He was born about 1725, at Goshen, 
Orange county, of Swiss descent, his 
grandfather, a Swiss soldier, having 
come to America about 1715. Henry 
Wisner was brought up on this grand- 
father's farm. His life story is restricted 
to his public career, as told in the annals 
of the day. He represented Orange 
county in the Colonial Assembly of New 
York for about ten years, and sub- 
sequently (in 1768) was appointed an 
assistant justice of the Court of Common 
Pleas. At the very beginning of the 
difficulties with the mother country, he 



383 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



allied himself heartily with the patriots. 
He was a member of the Second, Third 
and Fourth Provincial Congresses, the 
latter of which as a convention adopted 
the first State constitution in 1777, and 
was elected to the First Continental Con- 
gress, and also to the second, which 
drafted the Declaration of Independence, 
but in consequence of his absence in New 
York when it was engrossed, he was not 
among the signers. After this, his time 
was principally occupied with matters of 
a semi-military character. He made a 
careful study of gunpowder manufacture, 
and, with his son Henry, erected several 
powder mills in the neighborhood of 
Goshen, in order to supply the patriot 
troops, and also made bayonets and pikes, 
and gun-flints. He also constructed mili- 
tary roads along the Hudson river, and 
certain defensive works in which he 
mounted cannon, and, manning them at 
his own cost, seriously annoyed the Brit- 
ish in their attempts to navigate the 
river. From 1777 to 1782 he was a State 
Senator. He was also a member of the 
New York Convention of 1788 which 
ratified the Constitution of the United 
States, but voted against the instrument, 
prompted by Governor Clinton. He was 
a strong State's Rights man. He died in 
1790. A memorial of him, by Franklin 
Burge, represents him as irreproachable 
in character, and greatly esteemed by his 
contemporaries. He died in Goshen, 
New York, in 1790. 



BENSON, Egbert, 

Lairyer, Jnrist, Iiitteratenr. 

Egbert Benson, a man of conspicuous 
ability, and the first president of the New 
York Historical Society, was born in 
New York City, June 21, 1746. He was 
graduated from Kings (now Columbia) 
College in 1765, became a lawyer, entered 



upon practice in New York City, and 
attained distinction in his profession. 

An ardent patriot, he was recognized 
among the foremost, and was made a 
member of the Committee of Safety at 
the outbreak of the Revolution. In 1777 
he was called to be the first Attorney 
General of the State, and served in that 
position with ability for eleven years. 
In 1777 he was also elected to the first 
State Assembly, from Dutchess county, 
and was reelected in 1778-80-81 and 1788. 
In 1783 he was of the three commis- 
sioners to direct the embarkation of the 
Tory refugees for the loyal British 
provinces. He sat in the Continental 
Congress from 1784 to 1788, and in the 
First and Second Congresses of the 
United States, from March 4, 1789, to 
March 3, 1793. In the latter year a 
movement was begun looking to the ap- 
pointment of another judge of the 
Supreme Court of the State, and it was 
the ardent wish of the Federalists to see 
Mr. Benson occupy the place. Clinton 
and the Council were not able to agree 
upon a person to be preferred for the 
high office, and in 1794, the Federalists 
having secured an ascendancy, Benson 
was nominated by one of their number 
and received all their votes, despite Clin- 
ton's remonstrance that he alone, as Gov- 
ernor, had the power of nomination. He 
occupied his seat on the bench until 1802, 
when he was appointed to the bench of 
the United .States Circuit Court. He was 
again elected to Congress, and took his 
seat March 4, 1813, but resigned August 
2nd of the same year. He was a regent 
of the University of New York from 1789 
to 1802, and the first president of the New 
York State Historical Society, and 
served in that capacity from 1817 to 1820. 
In 1808 Harvard College conferred upon 
him the degree of Doctor of Laws, and 
he received the same degree from Dart- 



384 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



mouth in 1811. He was a lawyer and 
jurist of distinction, and a scholar of 
no inconsiderable attainments — familiar 
with the English and classical authors, 
and also with Indian antiquities and 
Dutch history. He published two works : 
"A Vindication of the Captors of Major 
Andre" (1817), and "A Memoir on Dutch 
Names of Places" (1835). He was an 
intimate friend of Washington and Jay. 
Judge Duer, his biographer, said of him 
that he was greatly beloved by his con- 
temporaries ; a man of singular truth and 
integrity, of great benevolence of heart, 
of unaffected and cheerful piety, honest 
in all his purposes, and fixed and steady 
in their execution. He passed his later 
years at Jamaica, Long Island, where he 
died, August 24, 1833. 



WALDO, Daniel, 

Chaplain, Centenarian, 

Daniel Waldo, nearly the last, if not 
the last survivor of the soldiers of the 
Revolution, and remarkable for his 
activities as a centennarian, was the ninth 
in a family of twelve children of Zacheus 
Waldo, and grandson of Deacon Edward 
Waldo. He was born in Scotland Parish, 
Windham, Connecticut, September 10, 
1762. His mother was Tabitha, daughter 
of Joseph Kingsbury, of Norwich. He 
was brought up on his father's farm and 
obtained his early schooling in his native 
town. In April, 1779, he was drafted into 
a company of Connecticut militia and, 
being taken prisoner in December fol- 
lowing, was detained for two months in 
the "Sugar House" in New York City. 
After his release, he returned to his 
father's place and labored diligently 
thereon, until he was about twenty years 
old, when he determined to become a 
minister, and as preliminary thereto to 



compass a liberal education. He was 
prepared for college by Rev. Dr. Charles 
Backus, of Somers, and was graduated 
from Yale in 1788. He then studied 
theology with the Rev. Dr. Levi Hart, 
of Preston, and was licensed to preach 
by the Windham Association of Minis- 
ters, October 13, 1789. 

After preaching for brief periods in 
several Connecticut pulpits and pursuing 
further theological studies with the Rev. 
Dr. Nathan Perkins, of West Hartford, 
he was ordained, May 23, 1792, as pastor 
of the Congregational Church in West 
Suffield, where he remained in charge 
until December, 1809, although for a 
portion of the time absent in missionary 
service. Withdrawing from West Suf- 
field, he engaged in various clerical labors 
for the ensuing two years, at Westmin- 
ster and Salem, Connecticut, and Cam- 
bridgeport, Massachusetts. He next 
went, under the patronage of the Evan- 
gelical Missionary Society, to Rhode 
Island, wherein he served until 1820. In 
September, 1823, he became the pastor 
of the Congregational church in Exeter, 
a parish of Lebanon, Connecticut, where 
he continued until 1834, when he resigned 
mainly on account of the inability of the 
parish to support him. Although, as a 
preacher, "Father" Waldo, as he was 
called many years, was not especially 
eloquent, he was luminous, direct and 
eminently practical, as he was greatly 
beloved in every place where he was 
stationed. 

In 1835, he followed one of his sons 
to a farm in Wayne county. New York, 
and his residence continued in this State 
until his death, nearly thirty years later. 
He was not again settled over a church, 
but was employed as supply in various 
places, and from 1843 until 1846 acted as 
a missionary, in connection with the 



N Y— Vol 1—25 



385 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Presbyterian communion in Cayuga 
county. Late in 1846, he removed to 
Geddes, then a suburb of Syracuse, but 
now incorporated therein and, ten years 
later, settled in the city. In December, 
1856, at the instance of the Hon. Amos 
P. Granger, then representing the twenty- 
fourth district, he was at the age of 
ninety-four chosen chaplain of the House 
of Representatives at Washington and 
was reelected the ensuing year. Even at 
his advanced age, he performed his duties 
earnestly and efficiently, and was highly 
regarded by the House. It is not on 
record that any legislative body has been 
served spiritually by one whose years 
numbered nearly a century, and who still 
retained his faculties unimpaired, and 
about whom lingered the respect for one 
who had fought for the independence of 
the republic. He preached the Word 
after he had entered his one hundred and 
second year, delivering a notable sermon 
in Jordan. He was a familiar figure in 
the streets of Syracuse, frail but not 
feeble, with eyes still bright, with agile 
step and cheery greeting, and enjoyed 
comfortable health until early in July, 
1864, he fell down stairs at his home and 
died from the shock on the thirtieth day 
of the month, being loi years, ten 
months and twenty days old. An en- 
graving in the "Waldo Genealogy" repre- 
sents him in extreme old age. 

He married, September 14, 1795, in 
Suffield, Connecticut, Nancy, daughter of 
Captain Oliver and Rachel (Gilbert) 
Hanchett, who died in Syracuse in 1855, 
having been afflicted with derangement 
of the mind for nearly fifty years. Their 
children were five sons, the eldest of 
whom was graduated from Harvard Col- 
lege in 1818, and died while studying 
theology. The other sons survived their 
father. 



SHELDON, Alexander, 

Physician, Parliamentarian. 

Alexander Sheldon, eminent as a physi- 
cian in the Mohawk Valley and distin- 
guished as a parliamentarian, was born 
October 23, 1766, in Suffield, Connecticut. 
Upon leaving college he studied medicine 
and settled in practice at Charleston, 
Montgomery county, which became his 
life-long home. He began without fortune, 
but, by diligence in his profession and pru- 
dence in husbanding his means, achieved 
financial success as well as scientific re- 
pute. He received the honorary degree of 
medicine from the College of Physicians 
and Surgeons, in New York City, in 1812. 
Strong in the confidence of his fellow- 
citizens, he was early tendered political 
preferment, and as an Anti-Federalist was 
elected to the Assembly for the session of 
1801, and returned to those of 1802 to 
1808, inclusive, and again in 1812. With- 
out marked ability as an orator, his par- 
liamentary knowledge and skill, as well as 
his manly bearing and upright character, 
brought him the speakership in 1804, to 
which commanding position he was re- 
elected in 1805, 1806, 1808 and 1812 — five 
terms — a tenure which has been exceeded 
but by two incumbents (Husted and 
Nixon) and equalled by but two (Little- 
john and Wadsworth). In 1826 he was 
also returned to the Assembly by the can- 
vassers, but his seat was contested by 
Matthias I. Bovee, who succeeded in 
obtaining it on the 26th of January. Into 
the merits of this controversy it is not 
necessary at this distance to enter. Suf- 
ficient is it to say that it involved no im- 
putation upon the integrity of Dr. Shel- 
don. He was throughout his political 
career, while an earnest Democrat and 
influential in party councils, notable for 
his fairness and probity. 



386 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Other offices than that of speaker which 
he held were those of judge of Mont- 
gomery county from 1815 until 1819; re- 
gent of the University from 1808 until 
1817; and delegate to the constitutional 
convention of 1821. He died in Charles- 
ton, December 19, 1836, in the seventy- 
first year of his age. He married in early 
life Miriam King, of Suffield, and had by 
her eleven children, of whom seven arrived 
at maturity ; five were sons, the eldest 
following his father's profession ; one son 
founded the publishing house of Sheldon 
& Company in New York City. He mar- 
ried, secondly, September 17, 1818, Cla- 
rissa, elder daughter of Solomon and Pru- 
dence (Robbins) Loomis, of Colchester, 
Connecticut, and widow of Alfred Sham. 
By this marriage there was no issue. 



WOODWORTH, John, 

Legislator, Jnrist. 

John Woodworth, distinguished as a 
jurist and prominent as a legislator, was 
born in Schodack, Rensselaer county, No- 
vember 12, 1768. He was of Puritan line- 
age, the immigrant ancestor, Walter, 
locating in Norwich, Connecticut, about 
the middle of the seventeenth century, the 
Woodworth family abiding there for gen- 
erations. His father, Robert, removing to 
Schodack late in the eighteenth century, 
and later residing in Troy, gained both 
estate and honors, being a senator (1793- 
96) ; an assemblyman (1807) ; and county 
judge (1803-05). His mother, Rachel, 
was the daughter of Abel Fitch, of Scho- 
dack. John was graduated from Yale Col- 
lege, in 1788, after an especially brilliant 
course both as scholar and rhetorician, de- 
livering the Latin salutatory and winning 
the Berkeley scholarship. 

He studied law in the office of Chan- 
celor Lansing, at Albany, was admitted to 
the bar in 1791, beginning practice in 



Troy and transferring to Albany in 1806. 
Adhering to the Republican faith, his rise 
politically was as rapid as his success pro- 
fessionally. He was appointed surrogate 
in 1793 and served until 1803. In the 
latter year he was an assemblyman. He 
was a presidential elector for Jefferson, in 
1800, and was for the second time an 
elector in 1812. He was attorney-general 
of the State from 1804 until 1808. In 181 1 
he was appointed in conjunction with 
William P. Van Ness to revise the laws 
of the State, the first contribution to the 
great work which Duer, Butler and 
Spencer had the honor of completing 
fifteen years later. Two years were allot- 
ted to Van Ness and Woodworth, and 
their edition of Revised Laws of 1813 is 
a signal testimony to their industry and 
capacity. In March, 1813. Woodworth 
was elected a regent of the university, 
serving until his resignation in 1823. 

He was appointed an associate justice 
of the Supreme Court March 27, 1819, and 
continued in that honorable trust, exer- 
cising his jurisdiction competently and 
creditably until its enforced termination, 
by virtue of the age (sixty) limitation, in 
1828. 

Retiring from the bench, he resumed 
practice, retaining both his physical and 
mental faculties to the end. He died in 
Albany, after a few weeks illness, June i, 
1858, in his ninetieth year. He had mar- 
ried Catharine, elder daughter of the Rev. 
Eilardus Westerlo, pastor of the Re- 
formed Dutch Church, whose death pre- 
ceded his by some twelve years. Judge 
Woodworth is described as "of large and 
portly presence, with light eyes and com- 
plexion, and a countenance expressive of 
cheerfulness and benignity. He was very 
easy of approach, his manner affable, and 
conversation agreeable and fluent." He 
was the author of "Reminiscences of Troy 
from its Settlement in 1790 to 1807." 



387 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



PAIGE, Alonzo C, 

Jurist. 

Nathaniel Paige, a Puritan immigrant 
to Massachusetts Bay, was marshal 
(sheriff) of Suffolk county, living at 
Roxbury and Billerica and dying in 1692. 
His son. Deacon Christopher, born at 
Billerica in 1691, married Elizabeth 
Reed and died at Hardwick in 1774- His 
son, John, born at Hardwick in 1738, was 
a soldier on the Plains of Abraham very 
near the renowned commander. General 
Wolfe, when he fell fatally, and was 
himself wounded severely, carrying the 
bullet that pierced his leg, until his end. 
He married Hannah Winslow and died 
at Schaghticoke, New York, in 1813. His 
son, the Rev. Winslow, minister of the 
Dutch Reformed church, was born at 
Hardwick, February 28, 1767, and mar- 
ried, August 13, 1787, Clarissa, daughter 
of General John Keyes, who fought at 
Bunker Hill and was first adjutant- 
general of the Connecticut troops (1780). 
He died at Gilboa, New Hampshire, 
March 15, 1838, and she, at the same 
place, May 14, 1846. Of these latter men- 
tioned, Alonzo Christopher Paige, who 
honored his lineage as a highly service- 
able citizen and an accomplished jurist, 
was born at Schaghticoke, July 31, 1796. 

Alonzo was fitted for college, largely 
under the supervision of his scholarly 
father, and entered Williams, at an un- 
usually early age, being graduated there- 
from, with honor, in 1812, just as he 
completed his sixteenth year. In 181 5 
he received his M. A. in course and in 
1816 the same degree, as honorary, was 
conferred upon him by Union. In 1857 
he was laureated with the Doctorate of 
Laws by his alma mater. Soon after 
leaving college, his father, intending him 
for the ministry, placed him in the care 
of the Rev. Dr. Backus, a learned Scotch 



clergyman, then in charge of a neighbor- 
ing parish ; but, after about a year's 
conning of theological lore, he somewhat 
abruptly left the good dominie's roof and 
proceeded to Schenectady, where, with 
the reluctant approval of his parent, he 
prepared for the bar, was admitted there- 
to and opened an office in Schenectady, 
thenceforth his residence. From the first, 
a profound student of law, versed in its 
elementary principles, familiar with adju- 
dicated cases, "burning the midnight 
oil," and, with ardent ambition ju- 
diciously directed, he soon attained pro- 
fessional success. Coincident therewith, 
political preferment, through the medium 
of the Democratic party, to which he was 
consistently attached throughout his life, 
waited upon him. On September 5, 1825. 
he was appointed district-attorney of his 
county, and discharged its duties admir- 
ably for the ensuing fourteen years. 
Especially commending himself to Chan- 
cellor Walworth, he was in April, 1828, 
appointed reporter of the State Court of 
Chancery and as such was engaged for 
nearly twenty years. The eleven volumes 
of his reports are ample evidence of the 
diligence and fidelity with which he 
labored and are esteemed highly by the 
profession. In number they far exceed 
those of any other chancery compiler, 
those of Johnson — seven volumes — being 
the only ones at all rivalling his, other 
tenures ranging from one to three years. 
Judge Paige was elected a member of 
Assembly in 1826 and, in the three suc- 
cessive years of 1827-28-29, was returned 
to that body. He was a Senator also for 
four years — 1839-42 — and thus became a 
member of the Court for the Correction 
of Errors. The opinions he delivered 
therein are distinguished for great clear- 
ness, erudition and cogency. Upon the 
adoption of the constitution, which 
changed the judiciary from the ap- 



388 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



pointive to the elective system, he was 
chosen a justice of the Supreme Court 
and was re-elected in 1855. He was also 
a delegate-at-large to the Constitutional 
Convention of 1867.* 

Judge Paige's legal career is well and 
eloquently set forth in the resolutions of 
the bar of Schenectady county, on the 
occasion of his death. They were writ- 
ten by his neighbor and judicial associate, 
the Hon. Judson S. Landon, who in pre- 
senting them said in part: 

We honor our deceased brother, not so much 
on account of the high places of trust and of 
honor to which he was called and worthily 
filled, for none know better than our profes- 
sion that in our age and time high official place 
is not the truest evidence of high merit. The 
bat can reach that eminence as well as the 
eagle. But we honor him, because through all 
the years of his early and later manhood he dig- 
nified, adorned and elevated the profession of 
the law, even in the estimation of lawyers them- 
selves. No pretense, no art of a demagogue, no 
superficial acquirements, can give the lawyer 
high rank among lawyers; only merit, and real 
merit, can win that. Judge Paige, by the cheer- 
ful assent of his associates, long had place 
among the few who stand at the front rank of 
the Bar of our State. Others doubtless sur- 
passed him in the gift of eloquence which 
charms while it instructs, but none in that tire- 
less industry, that exhaustive learning, which, 
guided by the enlightened conscience and dis- 
ciplined brain, compels alike from principle and 
authority, the law to stand, as Bacon called it, 
'the perfection of human reason.' Throughout 
the State Judge Paige commanded the respect 
and honor of the learned and the good. 



•The character of the delegates-at-Iarge to 
thi.s convention, among whom Judge Paige was 
one, was notably eminent. It may be well here 
to recall their name.<!. Composed equally of 
Democrats and Republicans, tney were as fol- 
lows; Charles Andrews, Henry D. Barto, Tracy 
Beadle, Marshall B. Champlain, Henry O. Chese- 
bro. Sanford E, Church. George F. Comstock. 
Erastus Cooke, George William Curtis, Augus- 
tus J. H. Duganne, William M. Evarts. Charles 
J. Folger, Augustus Frank, Horace Greeley, 
Jacob Hardenbergh. Ira Harris, Waldo Hutch- 
Ins, Francis Kernan, George Law, John Magee, 
Joseph G. Masten. Henry C. Murphy, Homer A. 
Nelson. George Opdyke. Alonzo C. Paige. Eras- 
tus S. Prosser. Augustus Schell. David L. Sey- 
mour, Martin I. Townsend, Joshua M. Van Cott, 
Smith M. Weed. William A. Wheeler. 



Aside from his professional and legis- 
lative service, the activities of Judge 
Paige were many and highly beneficial 
to the community in which he lived. In 
all concerns of the municipality he was 
deeply interested and freely gave of his 
counsel and means in their behalf ; and 
was abundant in charities. In 1838 he 
became a trustee of Union College and 
so continued until his death. He had, 
with President Nott, the principal charge 
of the finances of the institution and be- 
stowed constant and laborious attention 
to their supervision and betterment, great 
credit being due him for its upbuilding, 
the enlargement of its resources and the 
safety with which it passed several 
severe crises. He was. for many years, a 
devout communicant in the Presbyterian 
church and, at his death, was one of its 
ruling elders. He was a man of fine and 
even imposing presence — an old-school 
gentleman, urbane and sincere, somewhat 
reserved in manner, but of kindly disposi- 
tion. He had married, at Schenectady, 
July II, 1832, Harriet Bowers, daughter 
of Benjamin Maverick and Harriet 
Bowers Mumford, and with her enjoyed 
a serene and fruitful union of forty-five 
years, what time the mosses crept through 
the time-worn walks of the old Dutch 
burgh lining the stout and roomy pro- 
vincial mansions, of which Judge Paige's 
was one, wherein a courtly, but genial 
hospitality was ordered ; especially when 
the comely and cultivated daughters of 
the house were blooming into woman- 
hood — this long before the genius of 
Edison had resolved the sleepy streets 
into arteries of commerce, builded 
gigantic manufactories, and swelled the 
population by many thousands of indus- 
trious citizens. 

For the last few months of his life. 
Judge Paige was somewhat enfeebled by 



389 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



disease and he died at his home in 
Schenectady, March 31, 1868. The death 
of his wife preceded his own by exactly 
one year. They left surviving them the 
following children: i. Clara Keyes, born 
August 24, 1836; married Rev. William 
Payne, 1877; died at Clifton Springs, 
August, 1894. 2. Harriet Bowers Mum- 
ford, born May 17, 1838; married Douglas 
Campbell, author of "The Puritan in Hol- 
land, England and America," December, 
1866; died at Cherry Valley, 1895. 3- 
Caroline Mumford, born April 14, 1840; 
married Henry Lansing, of Albany, Sep- 
tember 28, 1884, still living with her son, 
Alonzo, in Los Olivos, California. 4. 
Edward Winslow, born July 11, 1844; B. 
A. Union, 1864, LL. D. Hobart, 1887, 
counsellor-at-law 30 Broad street. New 
York City ; unmarried ; resides in the 
Paige ancestral home, Schenectady. 



HOPKINS, Samuel Miles, 

liawyer, Legislator, Promoter. 

PRKFATORT NOTE: 

At the annual meeting of the Rochester His- 
torical Society, March 14, 1898, the Rev. Augus- 
tus Hopkins Strong, D. D., "was privileged to 
read extracts from the autobiography of the 
Hon. Samuel Miles Hopkins, written in his 
serene old age. Dr. Strong prefaced the reading 
by an affectionate tribute to the author, saying, 
among other things: "In the archives of the 
family of \vhich I am an un^vorthy representa- 
tive, there has been for the last fifty years a 
little manuscript book which was written just 
sixty-six years ago. It is a treasure, which has 
never befn made public, and, so far as I am 
aware, it has never until this evening been read 
outside of the family to which it belongs. It is 
a sketch of the public and private life of Samuel 
Miles Hopkins, written by himself and left as a 
token of affection to Ills children. The fact that 
the autobiography is addressed to his children, 
and was never written for publication, lends a 
tender intere.<5t to many parts of it, for it is the 
frank unfolding of an affectionate, highly culti- 
vated and naturally noble mind. It is the life 
story of a mun of unusual endowments, whose 
lot was cast in stirring times and who made his 
mark upon his generation." The occasion was 
most interesting, several members participating 
in the proceedings — Theodore Bacon, Esq., ex- 
hibiting Hopkins's volume of Chancery reports, 
edition 1826. saying that "in point of accuracy it 
is exceeded by few in the Kngrlish language," 
and Charles E. Pitch mentioning a Fourth of 
July oration by Hopkins in Syracuse, 1820. The 
autobiography in full was, with the assent of 
the family, subsequently published by the His- 
torical Society. This sketch follows in the main, 
with some paraphrasing and the Introduction of 
new matter, the clearly composed memoir of an 
earnest and honorable life, with its too modest 
self-estimates. Hopkins's own language is in 
many sentences quoted literally. It could not be 
improved. 



There is a tradition, not an authenti- 
cated fact, that Stephen, of "Mayflower" 
fame, was the progenitor of the American 
Hopkinses ; and that he had a son, John, 
from whom the family, with which we 
are here concerned, descended. At all 
events, this line is traced definitely from 
John Hopkins, born in 1613, who came 
with the Rev. Thomas Hooker to Massa- 
chusetts Bay, in 1633, followed him to 
Connecticut in 1636, became one of the 
founders of Hartford and died in 1654. 
From him the line descends through Ste- 
phen of Hartford, born 1634, married 
Dorcas Bronson, died 1689; John of 
Waterbury, born 1665, married Hannah 
Rogers (?), died 1732; Stephen of 
Waterbury, born 1689, married Susan- 
nah Peck, died 1769; Stephen of Water- 
bury, born 1719, married Dorothy Tal- 
madge, died 1796; Samuel of Goshen, 
born 1748, married Mary Miles. Samuel 
was a soldier of the Revolution and, in 
1776. with the Connecticut troops, 
marched to the defense of New York. In 
1809, he removed to Mount Morris, Liv- 
ington county, and died there March 19, 
1818. He was a farmer, but also a man 
of exceeding culture, especially devoted 
to the study of mental philosophy, 
familiar with the works of Locke, Hume 
and Edwards and with those of the best 
old English divines — Tillotson, Sherlock, 
Leeds and others, and "could repeat 
Pope's Essay on Man, nearly every line 
by rote." He was, by inheritance, a 
devout and uncompromising Puritan. In 
practical affairs "he was just, impartial 
and disinterested ; unsparing of himself 
and sparing of the labors of and suffer- 
ings of all other creatures, brute and 
human, and most kindly afTectioned to- 
ward all that could think or feel, with a 
quick and intuitive perception of truth," 
teaching his children lessons of justice 
and humanity, the influence of which was 



390 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



by them gratefully acknowledged. He 
had six children of whom his son, Samuel 
Miles, born at Salem in Waterbury, New 
Haven county, Connecticut, May 9, 1772, 
was the eldest. 

Samuel Miles Hopkins was brought up 
in Salem, with his elementary education 
there and in Watertown obtained. In 
1784, he went to Hartford and lived in the 
family of Lemuel Hopkins, a half- 
brother of his father, a scholarly physi- 
cian of Hartford, thumbing some medical 
works and laying the foundation of his 
classical knowledge at the grammar 
school. In the autumn of 1788, he en- 
tered the sophomore class of Yale Col- 
lege. His own account of his college 
career is this: 

By the diligent improvement of time, 1 laid in 
a stock of knowledge upon many subjects, par- 
ticularly history * * * The spirit of Yale Col- 
lege was at that time a spirit of literary ambition 
and of infidelity. I was not in good favor with 
the faculty and took no pains to conciliate their 
good will ; but they gave me one of the three 
English orations, which were then reputed the 
highest appointments. I refused to attend and 
they refused me my degree. 

He received, however, in 1828, the 
degree of Doctor of Laws, coincident 
with the restoration of his name to the 
roll of the class of 1791 in the General 
Catalogue. 

In the fall of 1791, he entered the law 
school of Judge Reeve in Litchfield, 
already celebrated throughout the coun- 
try. After only eighteen months of study 
there, he was found worthy of admission 
to the bar of Connecticut; and, in 1793, 
he spent three weeks in Poughkeepsie of 
intense application, James Kent and 
Jacob RadcIifT, then young lawyers, being 
his preceptors, and passed a successful 
examination, entitling him to practice in 
the New York courts. His license was 
dated on his twenty-first birthday. He 



at once began law business at Oxford, 
Chenango county, with fair prospects of 
a fine practice ; but, a year later, removed 
to New York City, on invitation of the 
Hon. James Watson, a great capitalist, 
afterward United States Senator, engag- 
ing with Watson in operations in Vir- 
ginia lands, involving their purchase at 
home and disposition abroad, for their 
joint and equal benefit, predicated upon 
Hopkins's investigations. .Accordingly 
he spent nearly two years on the ground 
in inspecting and acquiring property and 
sailed for Europe, July 11, 1796, on his 
mission bent. The scheme, owing to 
unforeseen obstacles, was far from profit- 
able, but Hopkins had a rich and educa- 
tive experience for nearly two years. He 
saw much of various European capitals ; 
heard Pitt, Fox and Sheridan in Parlia- 
ment ; visited the English courts ; gazed 
through Herschel's telescope ; traveled in 
Scotland, Ireland, Belgium and France ; 
viewed art galleries, museums and libra- 
ries : held intercourse with many eminent 
personages ; was overwhelmed with social 
attentions ; in Paris, became intimate 
with the American commissioners — 
Pinckney, Marshall and Gerrj- — who were 
trying to negotiate a treaty with France, 
and with Joel Barlow and Robert Fulton, 
the one employed in extensive enterijrises 
and the other in his scientific inventions; 
learned French and Italian, and heard 
lectures on physics, mineralogy and 
chemistry by renowned professors — all of 
which is charmingly related in the auto- 
biography. 

Returning to America, he resumed the 
practice of the law in New York, assumr 
ing the clientage of Michael D. Henry, 
whose health had declined, and that of 
the Hon. Jacob Radcliff, who had been 
appointed a justice of the Supreme Court. 
"I had never well understood the form 
of practice," he says, "and was now 



391 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



crude in any knowledge of principles, 
having forgotten much which was to be 
understood and acted upon at once — not 
a single cause, but a multitude. How I 
ever got along with it is now matter of 
amazement to me. I studied and 
wrought to the utmost stretch of the 
powers of my fine constitution. * * * I 
was excessively laborious, caretaking and 
anxious. I was a stranger to selfish cal- 
culations, and having been brought into 
deep sympathy with my client, I could 
never learn to set up my own interest in 
my heart so as to obtain anything like 
just compensation for my services. In 
this spirit I undertook charity causes and 
fought (one at least) with unyielding per- 
severance for years. * * On the whole, 
my success as a lawyer was sufficiently 
encouraging. I probably held a better 
rank at the bar than any man of my years 
had ever done." This is the only instance 
of self-esteem which is to be detected in 
the autobiography, but it is justified. His 
standing in the profession was, indeed, 
an exalted one and, had he continued in 
it, he would have doubtless attained a 
superlative position, although confess- 
ing to exquisite diffidence and perturba- 
tion preceding his pleadings and ad- 
dresses on public occasions, of which 
there were many ; not apparent, however, 
in their delivery, which was singularly 
composed and of purest diction. He 
married, October 5, 1800, Sarah Eliza- 
beth, eldest daughter of Moses, a man of 
large estate, and Sarah (Woolsey) 
Rogers, with whom he lived happily for 
thirty-seven years, she surviving him 
twenty-nine years and dying December 
17, 1866, in her ninety-third year. 

His home in New York was a luxuriant 
one, of a refined and even excessive hos- 
pitality. Politically, he was a Federalist 
and entered ardently into the contests of 
party politics, being for several terms, a 



member of the Common Council. In 
1810, jointly with his brother-in-law, B. 
W. Rogers, he purchased a share in two 
extensive tracts of land — the Mount 
Morris and Leicester — on the Genesee 
river and, in November, 181 1, removed to 
Geneseo, the village of his excellent 
friends, the Wadsworths. There he 
superintended his farm property and, in 
1814, laid out the village of Moscow. In 
1813-14, he was a representative in Con- 
gress, contrary to his expectations and 
wishes, taking, however, no leading part 
in its deliberations, being, for the most 
part, absorbed in his farming and build- 
ing plans ; and not in entire accord with 
the Federalists, a great portion of whom 
voted against all means to strengthen 
the government in its war measures — a 
course which he could not approve. In 
1 82 1, he was an Assemblyman from 
Genesee county, then including Living- 
ston ; and. in 1822, was a Senator from the 
western district. 

His ten years on the Genesee river, 
although endeared to him by delightful 
social relations, were those of a strenu- 
ous life, engaged in various enterprises, 
especially those of his large landed estate, 
resulting in grievous disappointment. 
The clouds of adversity gathered and the 
storms beat upon him. Losses succeeded 
losses. Money disappeared and values 
minimized. When his Moscow property 
showed a loss of $50,000 compared with 
the sum at which it was once estimated 
and he accepted a check of $25,000, he 
considered it a fortunate escape ; and at 
the end of his senatorial term he repaired 
to Albany and once more hung out his 
lawyer's shingle. He there had consider- 
able Imsiness, not especially remunera- 
tive, as he was both careless and lenient 
in collecting his fees. In September, 
1823, Chancellor Sanford appointed him 
reporter of the chancery court, which 



392 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



place he held until January, 1826, pro- grew thin in after life, but never turned 



ducing a volume admirable for the skill 
and fidelity of its contents and phenome- 
nal for its typographical accuracy, as 
already noted. It is said to betray but 
a single error of that character. In 1825, 
he was appointed one of the commis- 
sioners to build a new State prison at 
Sing Sing, which they did, and installed 
the new, or Auburn, system of discipline, 
itself inspired by a notable essay which 
Hopkins had published. He regarded 
his work thereon and therein as the 
most useful labor of his life. In 1826, 
his father-in-law, Rogers, died leaving 
a large fortune and in 183 1, he settled for 
the residue of his life in the fair village of 
Geneva, where his declining years were 
passed tranquilly and happily, its bless- 
ings faithfully described in his auto- 
biography. An infidel in his college days, 
when a wave of skepticism swept over the 
land, which was stoutly breasted by 
President Dwight and other Orthodox 
divines and made to ebb. Dr. Hopkins 
absolutely changed his views, joined the 
Presbyterian communion and in his later 
years was an exemplary and sincere 
Christian. "Oh 1" he prays, "thou merci- 
ful and gracious God, who hast made this 
part of the closing years of my life so 
exceedingly delightful to me, grant me 
the aids of Thy good spirit that I may 
rightly use these blessings ; may I give 
Thee all thanks for Thy great goodness." 
"So true a gentleman, so high-minded 
and honorable a man, so humble and de- 
vout a Christian, I have never elsewhere 
known," says his eminent son, Dr. 
Samuel Miles Hopkins, Jr., long a pro- 
fessor in the Aul)urn Theological Semi- 
nary. In person Samuel Miles Hopkins 
was a fine figure of a man, just six feet 
high and perfectly formed for strength 
and activity. When in Paris, at about 
the age of twenty-five, he was called le 
Phoebus Americain. His soft brown hair 



gray — his eyes were a light blue. He 
died in Geneva, October 8, 1837, leaving 
seven children, viz : Mary Elizabeth (Mrs. 
William Gordon Verplanck) ; William 
Rogers ; Julia Ann (Mrs. William E. Sill) ; 
Hester Rogers (Mrs. Charles A. Rose) ; 
Samuel Miles ; and Sarah Elizabeth 
(Mrs. John M. Bradford), the last named 
recently dead, at an advanced age, a 
poetess of charming measures, especially 
endeared to a college Greek letter frater- 
nity (the Sigma Phi), of which her hus- 
band and sons were members, for verses 
in its honor. The third generation, of 
numerous branches and distinct prestige, 
holds the memory of the grandfather in 
special reverence. 



PAULDING, Major John, 

A Captor of Major Asdre. 

Major John Paulding, son of Joseph 
and Sarah (Gardenier) Paulding, was 
born in the Tarrytown homestead of the 
Paulding family in Peekskill, New York, 
October 16, 1758, and died at Staatsburg, 
Westchester county. New York, Febru- 
ary 18, 1818, in his home on Lake Mo- 
hegan. He was buried in St. Peter's 
churchyard near Peekskill, and in 1827 
the corporation of New York erected a 
monument over his grave in appreciation 
of his services during the Revolution. 

Major John Paulding was a man of 
great courage, and displayed his valor on 
more than one occasion during the strug- 
gle of the colonists to overthrow British 
rule. When it is known that he stood 
over six feet tall, excelled in feats of 
strength and, judging l)y his picture, was 
a man of most prei)ossessing physiogno- 
my, one may consider that he was in every 
way a fine type of the true American 
hero of the war of '76. It is related as an 
example of this, by Captain John Romer: 
"Paulding was a very brave man. He 



393 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



was once during the war upon Kaak-out, 
or David's Hill, with a party of militia, 
when the Refugee's horse appeared on 
some rising ground half a mile or a mile 
to the south. Paulding proposed to at- 
tack them there ; but the militia refused, 
considering it too hazardous. Pie then 
went alone, and getting under cover, ad- 
vanced and fired at them several times. 
Annoyed, they at length rushed upon 
him, and he escaped, but with difficulty, 
by getting into the bushes and swamp." 
When a young man he had one of his 
most exciting experiences. The house of 
his father had been plundered by British 
ruffians, and his mother compelled to 
submit to indignities. Coming home and 
learning what had happened, he seized 
his gun and hurried towards the camp of 
the enemy, intent upon revenge ; but 
finally was forced to retreat before a 
dozen horsemen. On one of his visits to 
his sweetheart. Miss Sarah Teed, whom 
he afterward married, he was set upon 
by a number of Tories, among whom was 
Ensign Teed, of De Lancey's corps. John 
ran into a barn, whence he fired upon his 
assailants. Angered by the wounds he 
had so inflicted, the attacking party de- 
sired to kill him ; but young Teed dis- 
suaded them. He finally surrendered and 
was taken to the old "Sugar House" 
prison in New York City, from which he 
presently escaped only a few days before 
the capture of Major Andre occurred. 
Captain Henry Chichester relates Pauld- 
ing's escape in this way: "John Paulding 
was a prisoner in the Sugar House, in 
1780, and made his escape in the middle 
of the dav, by jumping on a pile of boards 
from a window. I drew the attention of 
the sentinel while he did it." General 
Pierre Van Cortlandt relates that after 
Paulding made this escape, "he went to 
Nathan Levinus, who kept a livery stable 
in Chatterton street, where Lorillard's 
manufactory was afterwards. Paulding 



there got a Hessian coat, green, trimmed 
up with red ; got a boat, at the North 
River, and escaped to the Jerseys. At 
Weehawken he was taken up and brought 
before Marquis de Lafayette as a spy ; but 
Colonel Cortlandt knew him, and pro- 
cured his release." He then crossed the 
river to his home. 

Every child at school becomes familiar 
with the story of the capture of Major 
Andre, the British spy, without persuas- 
ion, because of the wonderful interest in 
the episode, and in this act Major John 
Paulding was acknowledged the leading 
figure among the three who accomplished 
it, an event of such great importance that 
Congress by resolution bestowed medals 
upon these three men. Andre was ne- 
gotiating under the name of "John An- 
derson" with General Benedict Arnold 
for the surrender of West Point. That 
place, although one of the principal for- 
tifications expected to hold the enemy 
from ascending the Hudson river, had 
many vulnerable portions which Arnold 
was willing for a price to expose to the 
British, despite the fact that he was in 
command thereof. Andre met with 
Arnold on the night of September 21, 
1780, at the house of Joshua Hett Smith, 
when the American general delivered to 
the British officer six papers, filled with 
information regarding the defences and 
their weakness pointed out with minute 
detail. Against the advice of Clinton, 
the British officer at New York, Andre 
wore a disguise, and against the instruc- 
tions of Arnold, Smith persuaded Andre 
to return to New York by land, leaving 
him to proceed alone. John Paulding 
was patrolling the east bank of the Hud- 
son river on the morning of September 
23, 1780. in company with Isaac Van 
Wart and David Williams, seeking any 
Tory depredators, known as "cowboys." 
Andre had reached a point within half a 
mile of Tarrytown, when Paulding 



394 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RIOGPLVniY 



sprang out of a thicket where he had been 
secreted with his companions, and he 
presented a firelock at Andre's breast, 
asking him whither he was going. As 
Andre supposed these men were friendly 
"cow-boys," he replied, "Gentlemen, I 
hope you belong to our party?'' Paulding 
asked: "Which party?" "The lower 
party," returned Andre, meaning the 
British, who were holding possession at 
the mouth of the river. When Paulding, 
to test him thoroughly, answered that he 
did, "Then," said Andre, "I am a British 
ofificer, out on particular business, and I 
hope you will not detain me a minute." 
Paulding ordered Andre to dismount. 
By this time the British officer was suspi- 
cious of having made an error, and dis- 
mounting, produced a pass which General 
Arnold had given to him, made out in the 
name of "John Anderson," adding, "By 
stopping me you will detain the General's 
business." At this point Paulding apolo- 
gized, and remarked that they did not 
mean to take anything from him, addmg 
that there were "many bad people along 
the road ; perhaps you may be one of 
them." Answering further questions. 
Andre declared that he carried no letters: 
but the three men led him among the 
bushes and searched his clothing mi- 
nutely. They had proceeded to undress 
him, removing his boots, and when his 
stockings had been taken olif, the docu- 
ments, folded into small compass, were 
found. Williams then asked him whether 
he would give his horse, saddle, bridle, 
watch and one hundred guineas to be 
released. Eagerly he promised any and 
all of these articles, and a quantity of dry 
goods besides to the amount his captors 
might name. It was thought by some 
critics that it was the intention of the 
three men to obtain so large a bribe : but 
such a thought would be set at rest by 
the next statement of Paulding: "No. 
by God, if you would give us ten thous- 



and guineas you should not stir a step." 
Major Andre was taken to the nearest 
military post, at North Castle, and de- 
livered to the commandant, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Jameson, chief of the Sheldon 
Dragoons. The three men departed 
without seeking reward, nor did they 
leave their names upon the record, and 
the prisoner was removed to New Salem. 
After his trial, when Washington refused 
to pardon, he was executed at Tappan, 
New York, October 2, 1780. When the 
trial of Joshua Hett Smith took place, 
Paulding was asked why he had not re- 
leased his prisoner when the pass was 
shown, and he replied: "I'ecause he said 
before he was a I'ritish officer. Had he 
pulled out General Arnold's pass first, I 
should have let him go." 

More intimate and accurate facts in the 
life and character of Major John Pauld- 
ing may be learned from his own state- 
ment made and signed by him on May 
6, 1817, which reads as follows: 

John Paulding, of the County of Westchester, 
one of the persons who took Major Andre, being 
duly sworn, saith. that he was three times during 
the Revolutionary war a prisoner, with the 
enemy: — the first time he was taken to White 
Plains, when under the coinniand of Captain 
Requa, and carried to New York, and confined 
in the Sugar House; the second time he was 
taken near Tarrytown, when under the com- 
mand of Lieutenant Peacock, and confined in 
the North Dutch Church in New York; that 
both these times he escaped: and the last of 
them only four days before the capture of .'Vndre: 
that the last time he was taken, he was wounded, 
and lay in the hospital in New York, and was 
discharged on the arrival of the news of peace 
there: that he and his companions. Van Wart 
and Williams, among other articles which they 
took from Major Andre, were his watch, horse, 
saddle and bridle, and which they retained as 
prize: that they delivered over Andre, with the 
papers found on him, to Colonel Jameson, who 
commanded on the lines; that shortly thereafter 
they were summoned to appear as witnesses at 
the headquarters of General Washington, at 
Tappan; that they were at Tappan some days, 



395 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



and examined as witnesses before the court- 
martial on the trial of Smith, who brought Andre 
ashore from on board the sloop-of-war; that 
while there. Colonel William S. Smith redeemed 
the watch from them for thirty guineas; which, 
and the money received for the horse, saddle and 
bridle, they divided equally among themselves 
and four other persons, who belonged to their 
party, but when Andre was taken, were about 
half a mile off, keeping a lookout on a hill; that 
Andre had no gold or silver money with him; 
but only some Continental bills, to the amount of 
about eighty dollars; that the medals given to 
him, and Van Wart and Williams, by Congress, 
were presented to them by General Washington, 
when the army was encamped at Verplanck's 
Point, and that they on the occasion dined at his 
table; that Williams removed some years ago 
from Westchester County to the northern part 
of the State; but where, particularly, the depo- 
nent does not know. And the deponent, referring 
to the affidavit of Van Wart, taken on the 28th 
of January last, and which he has read, says that 
the same is in substance true. 

John Paulding. 

Following the Revolution, Major 
Paulding settled on the farm which the 
State of New York gave to him, formerly 
owned by Dr. Huggeford, a Tory. It 
was located on the road from Peekskill 
to Crompound, some three miles to the 
east of the former place. This was short- 
ly after his marriage. Later in life he 
sold this property and removed to Lake 
Mohegan. The medal bestowed by Con- 
gress upon Paulding bears on one side 
the word "Fidelity," and on the other the 
legend, "Vincit armor patriae." The an- 
nuity ordered paid to him was the sum 
of $200. When the city of New York 
commemorated the capture of Major 
Andre by the erection of a memorial in 
the Cortlandtville cemetery, Major Pauld- 
ing's stalwart form in bronze surmounted 
the whole. 

Major John Paulding married (first) 
at Salem, New York, April 21, 1781, 
Sarah Tidd, born April 5. 1767, died Oc- 
tober 23, 1789. He married (second) 
November 18, 1790, Esther Ward, born 



April I, 1768, died March 6, 1804, daugh- 
ter of Caleb Ward. He married (third) 
Hester Denike, born 1784, died October 
27, 1855, daughter of Isaac Denike, of 
Peekskill. She married (second) Elisha 
Serrine, of Scrub Oak, New York. 

Hiram Paulding, son of Major John 
Paulding, was a naval officer during the 
War of 1812-14. He was born in New 
York City, December 11, 1797, died ai 
Huntington, Long Island, October 2\., 
1878; entered United States navy as mid- 
shipman, September i, 181 1, and partici- 
pated in the victory on Lake Champlain 
under Commodore McDonough, Septem- 
ber II, 1814, for which Congress be- 
stowed a vote of thanks to the victors, 
October 20, 1814; during the Algerine 
War he served on the frigate "Constel- 
lation ;" commissioned lieutenant April 
27, 1816; promoted to commander Feb- 
ruary 9, 1837, and had charge of sloop 
"Levant;" was made captain February 
29, 1844; in charge of the navy yard at 
Washington, 1853-55, ^"d of home squad- 
ron 1856-58; promoted to rear-admiral, 
July 16, 1862; during the Civil War was 
commandant of the yard at Brooklyn, 
until May, 1865, when he was placed on 
waiting orders until his death, being then 
senior officer on the retired list. 



VAN NESS, 

Political, Judicial. 

The Van Ness name recurs frequently 
in the earlier political annals of the State 
and the family was highly connected and 
conspicuous socially. The river counties 
— Albany, Columbia and Dutchess — fur- 
nished several representatives in State 
and national legislatures and incumbents 
of the bench. Two of these — William P. 
and William W. — became famous for 
their brilliant oratorical and rhetorical 
gifts and for their judicial attainments. 
They were first cousins. 



396 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGR.\PHY 



William Peter Van Ness was born in 
1778, in Ghent, Columbia county; was 
graduated from Columbia College in 
1797; studied law, was admitted to the 
bar and engaged in successful practice in 
New York City. In 1801 he received his 
first political preferment, being accred- 
ited as a delegate to the special Constitu- 
tional Convention that defined as equal 
the powers of the Governor and Council 
of Appointment respecting nominations 
for office and fixed the number of sena- 
tors at thirty-two and of assemblymen at 
one hundred for the time being. As a 
Republican and a leader of the Tam- 
many society, at an early age, he attached 
himself to the fortunes of Aaron Burr, 
whose fascination over the younger mem- 
bers of the party is proverbial. Van Nest 
soon became Burr's faithful adherent and 
most trusted friend. In the line of his 
profession, he was, with Judge John 
Wordworth, appointed "to collect and re- 
duce into proper forms, under certain 
titles of acts, all of the public acts of the 
Legislature then in force, reducing into 
one act all acts or parts of acts relating 
to the same subject or place, which in 
their judgment would be most useful and 
render such acts more plain and easy to 
be understood." The result of their con- 
scientious and accurate labors was "The 
Revised Laws," edition of 1813, to which 
subsequent revisers of the statutes were 
deeply indebted. 

As a Burrite he was deeply, if deftly, 
involved in the machinations having for 
their object the elevation of Burr to the 
Presidency, succeeding the tie vote in the 
electoral colleges, as is revealed by his 
letter to Edward Livingston, in which he 
said that "it is the sense of the Repub- 
licans in this State that after some trials 
in the House, Mr. JefYerson should be 
given up for Mr. Burr." More striking 
is his fealty to Burr displayed in the 



famous and now historic pamphlet issued 
in 1803, under the classic pseudonym of 
"Aristides" — as was the fashion of the 
pamphleteer of the day — but of which 
Van Ness was the author, with material 
freely furnished by Burr. It was in reply 
to Cheetham's "View of Aaron Burr's 
Political Conduct," which DeWitt Clin- 
ton inspired and in part undoubtedly 
edited. Van Ness's fusillade was the sen- 
sation of the hour and it is yet recognized 
as one of the most stinging diatribes 
known to political history. It was as gal- 
lant in defense as it was merciless in ex- 
coriation. Van Ness coupled real liter- 
ary ability with political audacity, put- 
ting Cheetham's fancy flights and infer- 
ences to sleep as if they were babes in the 
woods. It was quickly seen that Cheet- 
ham was no match for him. He had 
neither the finish nor the venom. Com- 
pared to the sentences of "Aristides," as 
polished and attractive as they were bit- 
ter and ill-tempered, Cheetham's periods 
seemed coarse and tame. The letters of 
Junius did not make themselves felt in 
English political life more than did this 
pamphlet in the political circles of New 
York. It was novel, it was brilliantly 
able and it drove the knife deeper and 
surer than its predecessors. What T'aine, 
the great French writer, said of Junius 
might with equal truth be said of "Aris- 
tides," that if he made his phrases and 
selected his epithets, it was not from the 
love of style, but the better to stamj) his 
insult." (Alexander, Vol L, p. 124). It 
was long before Van Ness's authorship 
was revealed, but it is to-day his chief 
claim to remembrance. 

In the memorable gubernatorial con- 
test, in the spring of 1804, Burr vainly 
endeavored to rehabilitate himself politi- 
cally by the aid of the Federalists— minus 
Hamilton — and Van Ness was still his 
ardent supporter and, largely through his 



397 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



efforts, Burr succeeded in carrying the 
metropolis by a majority of one hundred, 
although he was defeated in the State by 
over 8,000 votes. Three months later 
Burr, thoroughly discredited and with his 
heart rankling with hatred of Hamilton, 
selected Van Ness to deliver the chal- 
lenge to the duel and he was present at 
the tragic meeting, entailing upon himself 
a certain evil notoriety. After Burr's 
downfall, Van Ness continued engaged in 
his profession in New York, without seek- 
ing or receiving political preferment, but 
a supporter of Madison's administration. 
The President tendered him, May 27, 
1812, the United States district judgeship 
of New York, that it may be assumed 
without knowledge by the executive of 
Van Ness's anti-Clintonian sentiments. 
This office he filled acceptably until his 
death, September 6, 1826. In addition 
to the "Aristides" and fugitive contribu- 
tions to the press, he published "Reports 
of two Cases in the Prize Court for New 
York District" (1814) ; and "A Concise 
Narrative of General Jackson's First In- 
vasion of Florida" (1824). 

William W. Van Ness was born in Co- 
lumbia county in 1776 — independence 
year; received his elementary schooling 
at Claverack ; studied law and began prac- 
tice in Hudson about the time he attained 
his majority. Like his cousin, he soon 
attained success at the bar, with especial 
recognition of his splendid oratorical 
powers. Unlike his cousin, he attached 
himself to the Federalist party, then 
dominant in his locality, and was appoint- 
ed surrogate of his county, the duties of 
which he discharged faithfully until his 
removal by an adverse council, February 
4, 1804. In the spring of that year he 
was elected to the Assembly and was 
reelected in 1805. In that body he at 
once made a shining mark. Without the 
benefit of a liberal education, he was a 



born orator. He had a majestic person 
and a voice of marvelous strength, flexi- 
bility and tone. His wit, which punctu- 
ated his eloquent diction, was of the 
choicest quality persuading public audi- 
ences and delighting social circles. Al- 
though, it is said, that his passion for 
distinction was too pronounced and his 
love of sensual pleasure immoderate, his 
honor remained unsullied and his influ- 
ence unimpaired. He won admiration as 
an orator, prestige as a politician and 
friendship as a man, especially shown in 
his successful canvass in behalf of Mor- 
gan Lewis in the defeat of Burr for Gov- 
enor, while William P., as already noted, 
was as ardent in his fealty to Burr. The 
reputation acquired by William W. at the 
beginning of his career lasted through- 
out. He was ever the favorite of the hust- 
ings and the idol of the populace. 

But, he was diverted from active poli- 
tics by his appointment, June 9, 1807, as 
Associate Judge of the Supreme Court 
when he was but thirty-one years old. 
He served on the bench for the ensuing 
fifteen years, with credit and efficiency, 
and, eminent for his courtesy, his popu- 
larity as a politician continued as a judge. 
He was retired, by the remodeling of the 
court by the constitution of 1821, himself 
being a delegate to the convention that 
drafted it and of the number of Federal- 
ists and judges who refused to sign it. 
More than once he was proposed for the 
gubernatorial chair; and would doubtless 
have received the Federalist nomination 
therefor in 181 5 had the tribunal of which 
he was a member been differently con- 
stituted politically at the time. Indeed, 
he had been determined definitely there- 
for, as the candidate of his party, but, on 
reflection, inasmuch as the Council of 
Appointment was of a Republican com- 
plexion, it was deemed inadvisable by the 



398 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGR.\PHY 



Federalist leaders that the popular young 
judge should vacate the bench and allow 
a Republican to succeed him ; and Rufus 
King, consenting to what he knew was a 
sacrifice, headed the Federalist ticket and 
was defeated by Tompkins. After retir- 
ing from the bench, Van Ness settled in 
New York, with the intension of resum- 
ing his profession and with apparently 
still many years of life and a brilliant 



career before him, for his faculties were 
yet alert and many friends rallied to his 
support ; but his health declined speed- 
ily and death met him in a southern 
State, whither he had gone in the vain 
hope of restored vitality, February 27, 
1823, when he was but forty-seven years 
old. Achieving much, he died prema- 
turely, numerous demonstrations of pub- 
lic grief attending his departure. 




399 



INDEX 



INDEX 



Allston, Joseph, 207 
Theodosia B.. 206 
Washington, 207 
William, 207 

Anderson, Alexander, 156 
Richard, Col., 180 
Robert, Gen., 180 

Anthony, Daniel, 191 
Susan B., 191 

Appleton, Daniel, 210 

Armstrong, John, 46 

Astor, John J., 78 

Bailey, John, 331 

Theodorus, 331 
Bancroft, Aaron, Rev., 268 

George, 268 
Bard, Samuel, 22 
Barstow, Gamalial H., 382 
Beck, Caleb, 160 

John B., Dr., 160 

Theodore R., Dr., 160 
Bennett. James G., 179 
Benson, Egbert, 384 
Bouck, Christian, 114 

William C, 114 
Bradish, John, Col., 372 

Luther, 372 

Mary E., 374 
Brady, James T., 182 

Thomas S., 182 
Brooks, James, 368 
Bronson. Greene C. 347 
Bryant, Tchabod. 193 

Peter. 193 

Stephen, 193 

William Cullen, 193 
Burlingame. Anson, 183 

Joel, 183 
Burr. Aaron, 38 

Theodosia, 39 
Butler, Benjamin F.. 288 

William A.. 29T 



Cambreling, Churchill C, 375 
Clinton, Charles, 9 

DeWitt, 79 

George, 9 

James, 79, 244 
Colden, Cadwallader, 221 
Conkling, Alfred, 378 

Margaret C, 379 
Cooper, James Fenimore, 123 

Peter, 7 

William, 123 
Cornell, Elijah, 168 

Ezra, 168 
Corning, Bliss, 177 

Erastus, 177 
Crosby. Enoch. 207 

Thomas, 207 

Dana. Anderson. 293 

Charles A., 293 
Davis, Henry, 346 

Henry, Jr., 347 

John, 346 

Thomas T., 347 
Delafield, Edward, Dr., 175 

John. 175, 249 

Joseph, Maj.. 249 
De Lancey, William H., 248 

De Witt, Andrew. Dr.. 219 

Simeon, 219 
Dickinson, Daniel S.. 356 

Daniel T., 356 
Dix. John A.. 241 

Jonathan. 241 

Ralph, 241 

Timothy, 241 
Drake. Joseph Rodman. 178 
Duane. Anthony, 217 

James, 217 
Dudley. Charles, 337 

Charles E., 337 



403 



tiNCYLLUi^UDlA Ub BIOGRAPHY 



Ellicott, Andrew, 221 
Joseph, 221 

Emmet, Christopher, 22^ 
Robert, 223 
Thomas A., 223 

Evarts, James, 199 
Jeremiah, 199 
William M., 199 

Field, Cyrus W., 214 

David D., Rev., 214 
Fillmore, John, 164 

Millard, 164 

Nathaniel, 164 
Flint, Austin, 314 

Joseph H.. 314 
Floyd, Nicolls, 8 

Richard, 8 

William, Gen., 8 
Folger, Charles J., 189 

John, 189 

Peter, 189 
Forman, Joseph, 273 

Joshua, 273 
Freneau, Andre, 271 

Philip M., 271 

Pierre, 271 
Fulton, Robert, 67 

Gallatin, Abraham A. A., 47 

Albert, 47 
Gansevoort, Harme, 24, 25 

Leonard, 25 

Peter, Gen., 23, 26 

Wesselius, 24 
Geddes, George, 377 

James, ^yy 
German, Obadiah, 305 
Granger, Francis, 203 

Gideon, 203 

Launcelot, 203 
Greeley, Horace, 170 

Zaccheus, 170 

Hale, John, Rev., 205 
Nathan, 205 
Richard, 205 



Halleck, Fitz-Greene, 197 

Israel, 197 
Halpine, Charles G., 316 

Nicholas J., 316 
Hamilton, Alexander, 41 
Hammond, Jabez D., T,y/ 
Ilarison, Francis, 345 
Harper, Fletcher, 283 
James, 282 
John, 282 
Joseph, 282 
Joseph W., 282 
Harris, Frederick W., 232 
Hamilton, 342 
Ira, 232 
Hathorn, John, 379 
Hawley, Gideon, 138 
Headley, Isaac, Rev., 264 

Joel T., 264 
Henry, Joseph, 313 
Hicks. Elias, 225 

John, 226 
Hill, Henry, 283 

Nicholas, Rev., 283 
Hobart, John H.. Rev.. 355 
John S., 328 
Noah, Rev.. 328 
Peter, Rev., 328 
Hoe, Richard M.. 297 

Robert. 297 
Hoffman, Adrian K., 297 
John T., 297 
Josiah O., 2yj. 285 
Michael, 304 
Nicholas, 285 
Ogden, 277 
Philip L., 297 
Hopkins, Samuel M., 390 
Hosack, Alexander, 84 

David, 84 
Hough, Franklin B., 321 

Horatio G., 321 
Hughes, John, Rt. Rev., 278 

Patrick, 278 
Hunt, Sanford, 344 
Washington, 344 



404 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGR.\PHY 



Inman, Henry, 337 
Irving, Washington, loi 

Jacobi, Mary P., 372 
Jay, John, 13 

Peter, 13 

Peter A., 17 

William, 18 
Jones, Elbert H., 312 

Samuel, 311 

Thomas, 311 

William, 311 
Jordan. Ambrose L., 379 

Kearny, Philip, Gen., 173 
Kent. James, 52 
Kernan, Francis. 256 

William, 256 
King. Charles. 348 

Richard. 34 

Preston, 364 

Rufus, 34 

Lansing, John, 325 
Lapham, Elbridge G., 292 

John. 292 

William G., 293 
Lewis, Francis, 32 

Morgan. 2~ 
L'Hommedieu. Benjamin, 143 

Ezra, 143 
Livingston, Brockholst. 147 

Edward, 63 

Henry, 222 

John H.. 222 

Robert R.. 18, 63 

William. 18. 147 

McDougall. Alexander. Gen.. 375 
Macneven. William J.. Dr., 154 
Marcy, Moses, no 

William L.. no 
Maynard. Malachi. 117 

William H., 117 
Mitchill. Samuel L., 60 
Moore. Benjamin, Rt. Rev.. 362 

Clement C, 362 



Morris, George P., 307 

Gouverneur, 27 

Lewis, 216 

Lewis, Jr., 27 
Morse, Jedediah, Rev., 211 

John, 211 

Samuel F. B., 211 
Mott, Henry, Dr., 157 

Valentine, Dr.. 137 

Nelson, Samuel, 132 
North, John, Capt., 329 

William, 329 
Nott. Abraham, 184 

Eliphalet. Rev., 184 

John, 184 

Stephen. 185 

O'Conor, Charles, 295 
Thomas. 296 

Paige, Alonzo C, 388 

Christopher, 388 

Nathaniel. 388 
Parker, Amasa J., 299 

.\masa J.. Jr.. 302 
Paulding. Hiram, 396 

James K.. 89 

John. Maj.. 393 

William. 89 
Payne, John Howard, 239 

William. 239 
Peck. Elisha, 245 
Pintard, John, 332 
Pitcher, Nathaniel. 331 
Porter. Peter B.. 86 
Potter. Alonzo, Rev., 162 
Pratt. Zadock. 330 
Provoost. Samuel, Rev.. 354 
Pruyn, Casparus F., 260 

Robert H.. 260 

Putnam. George P., 369 
Henry. 369 
Herbert. 372 
J. Bishop, 372 



405 



ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIOGRAPHY 



Raymond, Henry J., 253 
Renwick, James, 305 

William, 305 
Reynolds, Abelard, 366 
Riker, Richard, 238 

Samuel, 238 
Rochester, John, 360 

Nathaniel, 360 
Romayne, Nicholas, 153 
Root. Erastus, 140 
Rutgers, Henry, 225 

Sanford, Nathan, 152 
Schoolcraft, John, 134 

Henry R., 134 

Lawrence, Col., 134 
Schuyler, Johannes, 3 

Peter, 3 

Philip, 3 
Scott, John, 145 

John M., 145 
Seward, Samuel S., Dr.. 333 

William H.. 333 
Sheldon, Alexander, 386 
Sherman, Roger, 199 
Smith. Elias, Dr.. 255 

Matthew H.. 255 
Spencer. Ambrose. 72 

John C, 148 

Philip. 72 
Stephens. John L.. 230 
Stewart, Alexander T.. 167 

Talcott, Samuel A.. 128 
Tallmadge. Benjamin, Lt.-Col., 235 

Benjamin, Rev., 236 

Nathaniel P., 307 
Taylor. John W., 374 
Thompson. Smith, 304 
Throop. Benjamin, 106 

Enos T., 106 

William. 106 
Tompkins, Daniel D., 93 

Jonathan G.. 93 
Tremain. Levi, 352 

Lyman, 352 



Van Buren, Abraham, 96 

John, 349 

Martin, 96 
Vanderlyn, John, 231 
Van der Poel, Samuel O., 258 

John, Dr.. 258 
Van Ness. William P.. 397 

William W., 398 
Van Rensselaer, Stephen, 55 
Van Vechten, Abraham. 340 
Varick, Richard, 229 
Vassar. James. 232 

Matthew, 232 
Verplanck. Daniel, 276 

Gulian C. 276 

Wadsworth, James, 246 

James S., (ien.. 246 
Waldo. Daniel. 385 
Walworth. Benjamin. 120 

John. 120 

Reuben H., 119. 121 

William, 1 19 
Watson, James. 328 

John. 328 
Watts. John. 381 

Robert, 302 
Wayland. Francis, i<Si 
Webb. James W., 262 

Samuel B.. Gen . 262 
Weed, Joel, 317 

Nathan. 317 

Thurlow. 317 
Williams, Elisha, 135 

Jonathan, 208 
Willis, Nathaniel, 309 

Nathaniel P.. 309 
Wisner, Henry, 383 
Woodhull. Nathaniel. Gen.. 233 
Woodworth. John, 387 

Robert, 387 
Wrig'ht, Silas, Jr., 251 

Yates. Joseph C. 76 

Robert. 338 
Young. John. 285 

Samuel, 265 



406 



